Nominations for the next municipal election don’t open until May 2, and the ballot will become final on Aug. 19. The election is scheduled for Oct. 24.
Author of the article:
Jon Willing
Ottawa’s mayoral race unofficially started Friday after Jim Watson announced he wouldn’t seek re-election, with three people confirming they’ll run for the top job in 2022.
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Not long after Watson’s announcement, two council members and a former politician said Friday they’d seek to replace him in the next municipal election scheduled for October.
Gloucester-Southgate Coun. Diane Deans, who has been a municipal politician since 1994, called a media conference outside city hall to announce she would seek the mayor’s chair.
Deans said she had contemplated running for mayor in past elections, but, for her, the time is right to aim for the top.
Deans was on leave for part of the term while battling ovarian cancer and she said the health scare made her realize it was important to pursue her goal of leading the city.
“What cancer has really done for me is focused my mind on the things I haven’t done yet and the things I feel I need to do, and running for mayor is one of them, leading the city is one,” Deans said.
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Deans said she wanted to mend the political divisions between the urban, suburban and rural areas.
“I believe I will be that unified force to bring the city back together,” Deans said.
She’ll battle ate least one council colleague for the top job.
“I am going to run for mayor,” Somerset Coun. Catherine McKenney said. “I am going to register as soon as I can in 2022.”
McKenney (whose pronouns are they and them) was elected to council in 2014 after working for NDP MPs, city councillors and in the city bureaucracy. During this term of council, McKenney has been council’s liaison for housing and homelessness.
Outside city hall, McKenney told reporters there could be better debates and decision-making at city hall. They answered a question about their ability to appeal to voters outside of downtown.
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“I think the debate over the five months of the election will be good for this city and it will allow everyone,” McKenney said, noting that they once lived in Kanata and worked for a suburban councillor, “and did so quite successfully.”
“Everybody wants the same thing. They want a healthy green neighbourhood,” McKenney said. “We know that’s the case for everyone across the city.”
Former provincial Liberal cabinet minister Bob Chiarelli, also a former Ottawa mayor and regional chair, also said he planned to be on the ballot in 2022.
Chiarelli started expressing interest in returning to city hall earlier this year, but on Friday said he was certain about his candidacy.
“I’m definitely in,” Chiarelli said.
Chiarelli noted the long stretch between now and the municipal election, plus the fact no one can actually register for months. Until then, he plans to meet people, plan for the campaign and craft a platform.
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Chiarelli is considered to be one of the fathers of Ottawa’s O-Train network. His north-south LRT plan was replaced by today’s east-west LRT plan after Larry O’Brien unseated Chiarelli in the 2006 mayoral race.
There could be another contender from council.
Rideau-Vanier Coun. Mathieu Fleury said he was mulling it over.
“I’m certainly considering it,” Fleury said.
Orléans Liberal MPP Stephen Blais, a former city councillor and longtime political ally of Watson’s, said the mayor’s seat was on his mind.
“There might be a little bit more discussion about the future over the course of the holidays,” Blais said.
The municipal election campaign period can seem endless since the time between the start of nominations and election day is five months.
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While potential candidates might be gauging a run for the mayor’s office in 2022, they must wait until May before making it official.
And only when candidates submit their paperwork to the elections office can they begin fundraising and spending money on their campaigns.
The nominations for the next municipal election don’t open until May 2, and the ballot will become final on Aug. 19.
The municipal election is scheduled for Oct. 24.
Watson pointed out that campaigning for the top municipal job could be gruelling considering the massive geographic size of Ottawa and the diverse communities in the urban, suburban and rural areas.
It also requires heavy fundraising. Watson raised $410,000 in the 2018 mayoral campaign.
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