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| 2010-07-28 Voracious appetite for change | | | Ottawa Sun
Published: Wednesday, July 28, 2010 The voracious appetite for change Earlier this year on talk radio I stated that we could see as many as eight new faces on city council after October’s municipal election. At the time, only Gord Hunter and Peggy Feltmate had indicated they were retiring while Alex Cullen had registered to run for mayor. Since then, Jacques Legendre has said he is hanging up his municipal cleats and Clive Doucet — who could finish ahead of Alex Cullen in the mayor’s race — has made the jump for the big chair.But this still leaves three council seats — if Mayor Larry O’Brien gets re-elected — that need to change hands for my prediction to come true. And if Jim Watson becomes mayor, we could have nine new faces at City Hall.Almost all councillors — save for the retiring ones — have registered for re-election except for Shad Qadri in Stittsville-Kanata West, Rick Chiarelli in College ward, Maria McRae in River ward and Glenn Brooks in Rideau-Goulbourn.Based on my knowledge of the challengers registered in these four wards, the only incumbent who should start fretting is Glenn Brooks as he is facing three challengers with their own pockets of support in his ward.As of today, 79 folks are vying for 23 council seats with another 13 running for mayor. While we are still 88 days away from voting, readers would be wise to keep their eyes on the following seats.Knoxdale-Merivale — Gord Hunter’s ward — will obviously have a new face but with seven candidates in the mix, the race will be very tight. Ditto for Bay ward, where Terry Kilrea has said he wants to run again. However, this race will likely boil down to a contest between Mark Taylor, Ike Awgu and G.J. Hagenaars. As well, look for Erik Olesen to impress people with his maturity for such a young candidate.Rideau-Rockliffe — presently served by Jacques Legendre — is a bit of a dogfight as well. Both Bruce Poulin and Maurice Lamirande are past provincial Tory candidates in Ottawa-Vanier while newcomer Harley Collison is running as more than just a change candidate, which is refreshing in and of itself, since everyone runs on the tired old change ticket.In Capital ward, look for David Chernushenko — former Green party leadership candidate — and long-time Liberal and arts advocate Isabel Metcalfe to duke it out along with Bob Brocklebank who is a past-president of the Glebe Community Association.The three other wards where seats could possibly change hands include Katherine Hobbs and her challenge of Christine Leadman in Kitchissippi, Wade Wallace and Lilly Obina trying to draw voter segments away from Diane Deans in Gloucester-Southgate and Michel Bellemare may have to update his resume if he continues to play it low key while challenger Tim Tierney hustles all across Beacon Hill-Cyrville.Finally, in my own backyard Orleans councillor Bob Monette is being challenged by community volunteer and on-line publisher Fred Sherwin while Cumberland Coun. Rob Jellett is being pushed by Catholic school board trustee Stephen Blais. While I believe both councillors still have the advantage, they face challengers with energy and drive.But all councillors should be wary of the voracious appetite for change amongst voters who are looking to dine out, big-time on Oct. 25. To borrow from Bob Dylan a bit ... the seats they are a changin’. | | |
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