Ottawa Municipal Election
Mayoral, Councillor, and Trustee candidates were asked to keep their responses and biographies to no more than 290 words, and the Glebe Report pledged to publish them “as received” (edited only for length.) Candidates were also asked for contact information and a photograph of themselves. Responses received by time of press follow. The Glebe Report will include additional responses, as received, in the October issue.
Candidates for Councillor of Capital Ward (Ward 17)
Candidates for School Board Trustee (Zone 9)
All Candidates’ Meeting
Thursday, October 2
7:00 – 9:30 p.m.
Scotton Hall
Glebe Community Centre
175 Third Avenue (at Lyon)
Candidates for Councillor of Capital Ward and Mayor
Ottawa Municipal Election is Monday, October 27
Polls are open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Vote for Mayor of Ottawa, your ward Councillor, and your school board Trustee. For a full list of candidates, go to www.ottawa.ca. Under the City Hall tab, click on Your City Government, then Elections.
To find out if you are on the voters’ list, go to www.ottawa.ca and under Voters, click on “Are YOU on the voters’ list?” To find out where you vote, go to www.ottawa.ca and under Voters,
click on “Where do I vote?”
ID needed: You need one single, original (or a certified or notarial copy) document that shows your name and qualifying address OR you can complete a Declaration of Identity form at the polling station.
“Special” advance polls, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m., at three locations on each of three days:
Where:
Ottawa City Hall (Jean Pigott Place)
Ben Franklin Place (room 1A)
Cumberland Branch, Ottawa Public Library
When:
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Friday, October 3, 2014
Advance polls at your regular polling station:
Thursday, October 9, 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Saturday, October 18, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Mayoral Candidates
The Glebe Report asked all candidates for Mayor of the City of Ottawa to respond to the question:
“What do you consider top priorities for Ottawa and for the Glebe neighbourhood in the next four years, and how do you plan to address them? What qualities do you bring to the table?” (A few issues you may wish to address in your answer: intensification, light rail extension & funding, traffic congestion, taxes, garbage collection & recycling, government efficiency, city debt load, Lansdowne development, Ottawa River Action Plan, affordable housing, Canada’s 150th birthday celebration 2017, other…)
Candidates were asked to keep their responses and biographies to no more than 290 words, and the Glebe Report pledged to publish them “as received” (edited only for length.) Candidates were also asked for contact information and a photograph of themselves.
Responses received by time of press follow. The Glebe Report will include additional responses, as received, in the October issue.
Mike Maguire
Anwar Syed
Jim Watson
Robert White
Darren W. Wood
Mike Maguire
Mike has been a proud resident of Ottawa almost his entire life, but he believes that City Hall has lost sight of its purpose – representing its constituents. “It’s time we had a more transparent government that recognizes that there are limitations to the role of government. The City is in a mess, both financially and organizationally, and it needs fresh ideas to clean it up,” he says.
Mike wants to step up and fix the problems facing Ottawa. Decades of community involvement and years of studying municipal budgets and policy have provided him with a working knowledge of the problems that face the City today. His years of business experience have provided him with the ability to lead and work with others to create innovative solutions to all kinds of problems. “It is imperative that municipal government return to its roots. Residents need and deserve a local, transparent government that lives within its means and responds to the needs of all of its constituents,” he says.
Biographical details: Mike has lived in Ottawa since 1966 when his family moved here from Montreal. While raising two daughters and building a career in IT, Mike has developed a passion to make municipal government more transparent and more accountable to its constituents.
Contact information:
Email: info@mikeformayor.ca
Web: www.mikeformayor.ca
Anwar Syed
I too like the rest of the Ottawa public was looking for what the incumbent mayor of Ottawa was going to pull out of his hat when it was announced in advance that a policy announcement was going to be made on Sunday, September 8. The media of Ottawa was also glued to this announcement, with all major newspapers attracted to Chinatown like how flies are attracted to a pile of rotting garbage lying on the street.
What shocked me most was that this promised major policy announcement turned out to be nothing short of an empty firecracker, which did not even burst but let out a burst of bad odour smoke and caused little noise which did not even thrill the curious bystanders who have not even bought this firecracker in first place but stood around anyway to watch the free spectacle.
This also exposed the myopic blindness of an out-of-touch incumbent mayor who has no idea what homelessness and need of uplifting people’s life is all about. This is where the truth struck home when I read the policy announcement of an extra $2 million being allocated to homelessness to a previous budget of $14 million. The plan stuck in mind as nothing short of creating decrepit little ghettoes where the most disadvantaged of the Ottawa society will be herded in like sheep so that affluent builders of the city get prime properties of the agricultural lands in an ever expanding city limits and keep the disadvantaged in contained facilities where they could not get out of their vicious cycles of joblessness and poverty.
Leaving the city of Ottawa as is without drastic change at the ballot is nothing short of leaving the matters in the hands of a Myopic Blind Incumbent who does not see homelessness beyond the low value of $2 million in cahoots with other incumbent councillors who do not deserve your vote and another term of 4 years to lay waste the city of Ottawa.
Contact information:
Email: anwar4mayor@gmail.com
Web: www.anwarsyed.ca
Jim Watson
I’m proud of my record in delivering results for the Glebe. We’ve made significant progress over the last four years and I believe Ottawa needs to continue on the path of certainty and stability. If re-elected, I would work with Glebe residents and businesses to leverage the revitalized Lansdowne Park as a community gathering place. It will be used as a key event venue for occasions like Winterlude, the 150th anniversary of Confederation and a winter farmers’ market in the Aberdeen Pavilion. We need to continue to monitor closely transportation to and from the site.
My top infrastructure priority in the next term will be to expand light rail farther east to Orleans and west to Bayshore and Algonquin College, and the O-Train south to Riverside South. Light rail is finally under construction, with a fixed price contract. We need to continue this momentum by getting shovels in the ground for the next phase as soon as possible. I am committed to investing in the final phase of the Ottawa River cleanup, which will finally eliminate raw sewage from flowing into our treasured waterways.
Biographical details: The Glebe is a special place to me: I have lived here; my parents currently live here; and I had the honour of serving as your city councillor for six years.
Contact information:
Phone: 613-702-8897
Email: info@jimwatson.ca
Web: jimwatson.ca
Robert White
I am running in this election to warn the residents of Ottawa that I believe we are on a dangerous path toward economic ruin if we allow the Light Rail Phase II borrowing to go ahead without appropriate financial oversight or cost prepared planning oversight. The Light Rail Phase II cost is presently at an asking price of $3 billion dollars, which is not a figure that contains a finalized price. Contractually, this ask for $3 billion without even any planning to back the pricing is too risk-oriented for residents of Ottawa, who require appropriate contractual estimates where projects are subject to open bidding processes and competitive business practices. This LRT Phase II deal is sole sourced and not responsible governance on the part of government officials who should know better.
I will provide competent financial, and contractual business practices, which will safeguard residents and taxpayers against the kind of liberal largesse that neo-Liberal governance typically employs to conceal true costs for large government projects such as Light Rail Phase II. I will cancel LRT Phase II, restore weekly garbage pickup, freeze Long Term Capital borrowing, reduce employee numbers by 5 per cent, per term of office, freeze Ottawa Police Services Budget for my first term of office, and renegotiate the Orgaworld contract to be equitable for residents and Orgaworld.
Biographical details: I have an Honours B.A. in Experimental Psychology from Carleton University and a diploma in Mechanical Engineering from Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology.
Contact information:
Phone: 613-271-8804
Email: fm453@ncf.ca
Darren W. Wood
Biographical details: 20 years in politics in various positions including manager, event organizer, fundraiser and candidate. Owned several businesses employing many people. Fought to keep business in my city that created 1,100 full-time jobs.
Contact information:
Web: darrenwood.org
Email: darrenwwood@live.com
Twitter: @Vote_wood
Candidates for Councillor of Capital Ward (Ward 17)
The Glebe Report asked all candidates for Councillor of Capital Ward (Ward 17) to respond to the question:
”What do you consider top priorities for Capital Ward (Ward 17), and the Glebe in particular, in the next four years, and how do you plan to address them? What qualities do you bring to the table?”
(Some issues you may want to address: Lansdowne traffic and parking, integration of Lansdowne retailers, urban park programming, the canal footbridge at Fifth and Clegg, intensification and infill issues, bikeway, green space deficit)
Candidates were asked to keep their responses and biographies to no more than 290 words, and the Glebe Report pledged to publish them “as received” (edited only for length). Candidates were also asked for contact information and a photograph of themselves. Responses received by time of press follow. The Glebe Report will include additional responses, as received, in the October issue.
Scott Blurton
David Chernushenko
Scott Blurton
If elected as your councillor, I will focus on five priorities: youth unemployment, smart development, transportation choice, mental health and poverty reduction.
I will work with the City of Ottawa to develop a youth employment strategy focused on investing in the entrepreneurs of tomorrow, implementing a skills-focused promotion strategy for attracting investment, promoting the values and skills that young Canadians can offer, establishing the City of Ottawa as the central hub for employment, working toward labour market freedom through open data.
When evaluating development projects at council, I will work toward the smart development of our city by depending on nine principles: accessibility, affordability, community, connectivity, density, flexibility, security, sustainability and variety. I will work to improve transportation choice for Ottawa residents by working with the City to investigate the feasibility of congestion pricing; develop safe intersections; and expand the Percy Bike Path south to connect the Glebe, Old Ottawa South and Heron Park.
I will work to improve access to mental health facilities and services to ensure that our most vulnerable citizens get the help they need.I will work to reduce poverty in the city by improving access to affordable housing through annual targets to ensure that the City meets its Official Plan target that 25 per cent of new residential development be affordable, while tracking the loss of affordable units through demolition and conversions.
By working together through these five priorities, I believe that we can build a city where everyone gets a fair chance.
Biographical details: Blurton has undergraduate degrees in computer engineering and political science and a master’s degree in political science. For the past four years, he has served as a policy analyst in the Government of Canada.
Contact information:
Email: ScottBlurton@scottblurton.ca
Twitter and Instagram:
@ScottGBlurton
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ScottBlurtonForCapitalWard
David Chernushenko
Citywide/Capital Ward priorities
– Increase community certainty in the development approvals process through consistent application of zoning, community design plans and infill guidelines, and by strengthening bylaws.
– Accelerate construction of affordable housing by brokering cross-sector partnerships and strengthening housing policies.
– Improve public transit by completing the Confederation Line and moving quickly to finance and approve Phase Two, including expanded O-Train service and hub-and-spoke bus routes centered around stations.
– Shift a percentage of road funding toward sidewalk replacement and filling missing links in walking and cycling routes.
– Oversee Main Street’s renewal and apply Complete Street principles to other projects, like the 2017/2018 Bronson renewal.
– Promote sustainable urban intensification, working with the Oblate Lands developers to showcase this approach.
Glebe priorities
– Complete the Glebe Cycling Plan and implement recommended changes. Advance the O’Connor Bike Route as soon as possible.
– Maintain Bank Street as a vibrant commercial district by respecting zoning, enhancing walkability by removing sidewalk clutter in concert with the Glebe BIA, and promoting the street’s atmosphere and amenities.
– Advance construction of the Fifth-Clegg footbridge through a multi-party financing partnership.
Invest in the maintenance of Glebe parks. Upgrade lighting and paths in Central Park East and solve drainage problems in Central Park West.
– Integrate Lansdowne into the community by maximizing connectivity, coordinated activities, and use by local residents.
Many issues will arise in the next term. Some are predictable, while others will be entirely new. I will apply the same principled, pragmatic and positive approach that I have demonstrated in my first term.
Biographical details: Councillor Chernushenko has been a sensible voice on council since 2010, advocating for active transportation, smarter (re)development and a healthier, more accessible city for everyone. He is a dedicated community volunteer, sustainability expert, filmmaker, cyclist, hockey player and father.
Contact information:
Phone: 613-730-0870
Email: david@davidc.ca
Web: www.davidc.ca
Candidates for School Board Trustee (Zone 9)
The Glebe Report asked candidates for school board trustee in Zone 9 to respond to the question: “What do you see as top priorities for Ottawa Carleton District School Board/Ottawa Catholic School Board schools in Zone 9, in particular those serving Glebe residents, in the next four years? How do you plan to address them? What qualities do you bring to the table?”
Candidates were asked to keep their responses and biographies to no more than 290 words, and the Glebe Report pledged to publish them “as received” (edited only for length.) Candidates were also asked for contact information and a photograph of themselves. Responses received by time of press follow. The Glebe Report will include additional responses, as received, in the October issue.
Ottawa Catholic School Board
Ottawa Carleton District School Board
Ottawa Catholic School Board
Kathy Ablett
Priorities of the Ottawa Catholic School Board fall under three guiding principles:
– Student success
– Success for staff
– Stewardship of resources
The priorities that I see for our schools in the Glebe are:
– Promotion and protection of Catholic Education
– Expansion of programmes
– Increased use of technology in the classroom
– Continued improvements of the facilities
– Completion of the defibrillators in schools programme in 2015
– Promotion of the partnership with the St James Tennis Club for the establishment of four tennis courts at Corpus Christi, which should also be a welcome addition for the entire community
Teamwork and collaboration are how good decisions are made at our Board so that I have every confidence that the above priorities will become a reality. What do I bring to the Board? Through personal energy, pro-activity, accessibility, accountability and teamwork I have been able to get results for our children for the past 23 years. In recognition of that effectiveness, I am in receipt of The Trustee Award of Merit from the Ontario Catholic School Board Trustees Association.
With your support on October 27, 2014 I pledge to continue working hard for your children. I truly enjoy the privilege of serving you as a team player on one of the leading Catholic School Boards in the province and the largest Catholic School Board in the City of Ottawa.
Biographical details: Kathy Ablett has served as your Catholic School Trustee for 23 years. She is past Chair Person of the Board, has served on all Board Committees, currently chairs the committee for Student Honours and Awards and is an active advocate. Ablett is a Registered Nurse and active in Family Practice medicine. She and her husband Richard have five grandchildren in our Catholic Schools.
Contact information:
Phone: 613-523-3443
Email: rla@istar.ca
Ottawa Carleton District School Board
Shawn Menard
During the next four years our public school board will face some serious challenges: all day daycare implementation, bell time changes at our schools, an $860 million dollar operating budget with declining reserves, and new rounds of collective bargaining with a freshly elected provincial government.
The schools in the Glebe continue to be affected by infrastructure demands and the need for quality facilities to service the high population of students attending school here.I am pledging to you that I will put my skill-set to work day-in and day-out to make sure that Zone 9 achieves the best possible outcomes and that the well-being of our students is put first.
I’ve been a passionate community organizer during the past decade. I was raised in the City of Ottawa and attended public school here all of my life. After obtaining my Undergraduate and Master’s Degrees at Carleton University in the field of Public Policy, I went on to work for the Department of Justice. I am now the Manager of Government Relations for the Federation of Canadian Municipalities advocating on behalf of all cities and communities in Canada.
Biographical details:
Board Member, Children’s Aid Society of Ottawa
Vice Chair, Pedestrian and Transit Advisory Committee, City of Ottawa
Ottawa President, Carleton University Alumni Association
President, Centretown Community Association
Board of Governors, Carleton University
President, Carleton Students Association
Contact information:
Web: shawnmenard.ca
Email: shawn@shawnmenard.ca
