Ottawa Election Primer Part 4

This is my fourth of five in a series about the Ottawa Municipal elections taking place October 22, 2018.

Bay

Bay ward became open when Councillor Mark Taylor honoured his pledge to only sit on council for two terms. The list of candidates includes a School Board Trustee (Theresa Kavanagh), someone who has worked in the financial industry (Erica Dath), a business management consultant (Don Dransfield), a community activist (Marc Lugert) and a 2104 candidate giving it another run (Trevor Robinson). The one person who is not running, but who looms large is former councillor Alex Cullen. He is often sought out by Ottawa media to comment on issues from the ward and Ottawa.

Bay is a ward on the verge of change with LRT moving west to Bayshore and beyond and what could be important redevelopment of Lincoln Fields. But there is the challenge of increased crime in the area – of all the candidates; only Lugert mentions public safety and police services in his campaign priorities. I am sure the others are aware of the problem; the plan not to address it is a curious one especially from Kavanagh whose husband (Cullen) would have had to deal with similar issues.   But that being said, Kavanagh’s eight years on Ottawa Carleton District School Board give her the ‘governing’ experience edge that would get her up and running quickly. However here is buthere, Cullen ran in the past two elections and lost to Taylor, in 2018 will voters decide for REAL change and opt for one of the four others running?

Somerset

Somerset is my ‘home’ ward and after running twice as the PC Candidate in the riding that contains Somerset Ward, I know just how tough and "left" this ward is. Catherine McKenney is seeking re-election for the first time since claiming the seat after her former boss Diane Holmes retired. In 2014 she ran away with the win after facing ten opponents. This election cycle there are three challengers, creating an atmosphere that with the right campaign for one of the three to could strongly challenge McKenney. However, the task will be tough as McKenney has the legacy of Diane Holmes in her corner. Can Merdod Zopyrus, Jerry Kovacs or Arthur David mount the campaign needed to win? Zopyrus and David have outlines of their platforms on their websites that provide a glimpse into how their term as Councillor could go.

The problem with Somerset ward, as in other urban wards, is that there are issues a candidate CANNOT be against and in Somerset, of the Candidates I could read up on they all are similar on Green space, development and planning. Zopyrus though does have plans to assist youth and identifies heritage as a key issue for him.

The voters of the ward have a selection of candidates with similar views to choose from. I will wait and see how these campaigns unfold before deciding where to place my “X”.

Osgoode

In an eleven-person race, George Darouze won in 2014 with 21% of the vote. In 2018 the field is narrowed to five candidates, Kim Sheldrick and Mark Scharfe are back and are joined by Auguste Banvalvi and Jay Tysick. Of all the candidates Darouze faces Tysick has the largest profile following a try as a Ontario PC Nomination Candidate, the founding of the Ontario Alliance Party and running in the Ontario election in the riding of Carleton (in which Osgoode Ward is located).

Darouze and Tysick will duke it out. I expect Darouze should win with much more than 21% of the vote.

Alta Vista

There was a time when the Councillor for Alta Vista spoke, the city listened; that was before 2014 when Peter Hume represented the voters of that ward. Since 2014, can anyone tell me when Jean Cloutier has said anything that made the same impact Hume would’ve? Does it matter? Friends I speak to say Cloutier’s soft-spoken approach to the job has made him well liked.

Cloutier’s re-election is being challenged by 5 candidates including two returning candidates; Clinton Cowen who ran in 2010 and 2014 and John Redins who is making a second run for the seat. Jumping in in the 2018 election is Kevin Kit, Mike McHarg and Raylene Lang-Dion. The impressive backgrounds of some of these candidates is let down by the lack of priorities and platform, including from the sitting councillor. I give credit to McHarg for having more ideas than all of the others but in a ward that is heavily residential he does not address taxes, water/sewage fees and roads – these will be priorities of the families that call Alta Vista home.

I guess voters will have to question the candidates at the doors and make their decisions based on that.

Cumberland

Stephen Blais’ recovery from his heart attack in 2013 has rejuvenated his life, he has learned his work life balance – but he still knows how to work for the constituents of Cumberland ward. With two challengers (Cameron Rose Jette and Jensen Boire) in this election Blais should get re-elected as he will continue to work towards an LRT extending to Trim Road in 2023. I expect that if Jette and Boire have good campaigns they will run again in 2022 when Blais may seek a higher seat.

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I would like to thank the readers of this blog for their comments stating how much they are enjoying this series of posts. In the next post, I’ll wrap up with the final 5 wards.