River Ward Candidates have Vastly Different Priorities for City Council

The Ottawa Citizen has published a ward-by-ward questionnaire and answer for all candidates in this year's municipal election. Every candidate received the same list of questions and the answers seem to be unedited.  It gives a very good insight into a candidate's potential as your councillor.

I have a special affinity to River Ward (Ward 16) as it is where I live and once ran for city council.

The questionnaire asked questions about the candidates, their positions and policies.  It was very wide ranging but there was one question I thought went to the core of the candidates reason for running.  The question was "What specific measure will be your top priority if you’re elected?" I thought this question gave a very good insight to each candidate's main push for city council as it will be the item they say they would make their number one action item if elected.  For those who believe that there are little differences between the candidates, please take a look at the vastly different priorities the eight candidates (two other didn't respond to the survey) in River Ward said to the Ottawa Citizen question:

Riley Brockington:   Thorough review of city expenditures with an open budget process and community consultation.

I chaired the $700-million School Board budget for four years. I want to immerse myself in the budget, understand the process that puts it together and look for savings from within.

Barbara Carroll:   Traffic and transportation will be a primary focus. I believe that we can improve on the plans for LRT and OC Transpo to meet the needs of the residents of River Ward and also find ways to improve traffic flow, safety and minimize traffic tie-ups during peak hours.

Don Francis:   I should like to focus attention on emergency measures that may be required as a result of massive weather events that caught Calgary and Toronto off guard last year and the National Capital Area in trouble during the ice storm of 1998.

Antonio Giannetti:   There are several priorities that I intend to deal with when I am elected.  First of all, I will make sure that public funds are managed with transparency. Secondly, I will work on increasing employment by encouraging recruitment. Thirdly, I will look after my constituents’ free time by working toward the improvement of public areas.

Michael Kostiuk:   Establish an ISO form of management for city of Ottawa. ISO creates clearly defined roles and responsibilities for City Staff. This increases both Transparency and Accountability. This means there will be no more project problems such as the Airport or Standherd Bridges! The management and organization style at the City of Ottawa needs vast improvement, and I propose that the city should be organized along the “I.S.O.” management style. Basically ISO certification requires that an organization document all the steps that are required for each section, and each individual to perform in order to carry out their duties. What this does is force the organization’s departments to justify WHAT they are doing, and HOW they are doing their tasks. Redundant tasks and duplication is removed, resulting in a more efficient and streamlined operation. And most importantly, an ISO approach to management and governance creates a precise “paper” trail so that everyone is ACCOUNTABLE for their duties in the organization. Let us have a system in place that will eliminate the chance of repeating costly mistakes such as the Airport Parkway Pedestrian Bridge, and the Green Bin Program. Accountability is what is needed in the City of Ottawa, and this item is probably the most important part of my election platform.

Mike Patton:    Stay on track — Stop the dumping of raw sewage into the Ottawa River. We have the plan and the money, let’s close this file.

Move forward — A strong plan for North/South transportation

Colin Pennie:   As Councillor, my top priority is building sustainable community solutions for River Ward. This includes effective transportation solutions, official channels of communication and proper due diligence on both ward and city-wide projects.

Vanessa Sutton:   Investments in new social housing projects need to be expedited via strategic use of Section 37 of the Ontario Planning Act, in collaboration with the development community and in consultation with non-profit groups to construct new social housing units as soon as possible, thereby reducing the current wait-times for safe social housing.

Here is the link for the River Ward candidates page (http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/ottawa-votes-river-candidates-answer-our-questions) . Links to the other wards are on the right of the page.