Six races to look at in Ottawa metropolis council elections

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With simply 13 of 23 sitting Ottawa metropolis councillors operating to retain their seats on Oct. 24, that this will likely be a change election is already assured.

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However, even in wards with incumbents, there’s loads of intrigue after 4 lengthy and infrequently acrimonious years on the council desk, with sturdy candidates having stepped in to problem for seats. There are additionally ward-level dynamics that make some races significantly compelling, like a former councillor difficult his successor in Osgoode and the bid by the brother of Knoxdale-Merivale’s outgoing consultant to take over his council job.

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With the sector of candidates now set, listed here are six wards to look at.

Kanata North: Appointee runs to grow to be ward’s elected councillor

It took simply 12 votes for Cathy Curry to grow to be Kanata North’s consultant at metropolis corridor, with council having determined — after some debate — to go the appointment route reasonably than a byelection to fill the seat the earlier councillor, Jenna Sudds, vacated to run federally final fall.

Curry’s title will certainly be on the poll on Oct. 24, alongside challengers Christine Moulaison, co-chair for over 5 years of the Ottawa-Carleton Meeting of College Councils, a corporation representing OCDSB college councils and fogeys, and Viorel Copil. 

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Kanata South: Transit fee chair making bid for a fourth time period 

In one of many races the place incumbents face a lot of sturdy challengers, Kanata South residents will likely be requested to determine whether or not to again Allan Hubley’s bid for a fourth time period. He’s been within the highlight for a lot of his previous 4 years at metropolis corridor as transit fee chair, overseeing operations of the brand new LRT system in addition to bus and Para Transpo service.

Three rivals threw their hats into the race in Might, the primary month that candidates might register: Bina Shah, a science and math instructor who secured two votes in her bid final yr to fill the vacant Kanata North council seat; Rouba Fattal, a senior economist and coverage advisor within the federal public service and founding father of the Kanata-Carleton Small Enterprise Community; and Erin Coffin, a longtime federal authorities worker and proprietor of a catering firm. 

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Candidate Mike Dawson joined the race earlier this month.

Knoxdale-Merivale: One Egli leaves politics, one other vies to exchange him  

Shifting eastward and contained in the greenbelt, Knoxdale-Merivale is one among 10 ridings within the metropolis with out an incumbent candidate. Distinctive to this race, nonetheless, is that his title will stay — partly — on the poll.

Keith Egli isn’t operating once more after three phrases in workplace, however brother Myles Egli is contesting the seat.

Now retired after a profession as a manufacturing supervisor at a printing and embroidery firm, the president of the Manordale-Woodvale Neighborhood Affiliation faces competitors from Sean Devine, a playwright, federal arts funding officer and two-time federal NDP candidate in Nepean who brings his years of service together with his personal neighborhood affiliation (Pattern-Arlington) to the battle. 

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Devine was first to register for the race and has since been adopted by six others, together with real-estate agent James Dean, occasions firm founder Michael Wooden and political organizer and advisor Joseph Ben-Ami.

Gloucester-Southgate: Lengthy-serving councillor Deans not on poll

For the primary time in additional than 20 years, Gloucester-Southgate voters received’t have the choice of choosing Diane Deans as council consultant.

They may, nonetheless, get to determine in the event that they need to vote for her govt assistant of greater than a decade.

Jessica Bradley is one among six candidates hoping to fill the seat Deans has occupied since amalgamation. Paralegal Aria Alavi — who describes himself as a robust proponent of a two-term restrict for metropolis councillors — and transit and accessibility advocate John Redins each filed their nominations papers in Might.

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They had been joined this month by Hussein Mahmoud, Taylor Houstoun, Ron Keays and Bradley.

Rideau-Vanier: Ten-horse race to exchange Fleury 

Whereas most wards attracted a handful of candidates by Friday’s nomination deadline, Rideau-Vanier is a strong 10-person race — greater than every other ward.

Present consultant Mathieu Fleury is one other long-serving councillor who opted to not run once more, and, relying on how profitable the varied candidates vying to exchange him are at successful over Rideau-Vanier electors, it could take a comparatively small variety of votes to safe victory in a crowded subject.

Not one of the candidates was on the ward poll in 2018, and there’s a various slate for voters. There’s researcher and self-proclaimed progressive candidate Laura Shantz, conservative-oriented small enterprise proprietor Tyler Cybulski, Hearth of God Ministries pastor Alex Osorio, Franco-Ontarian artist Julie Fiala and entrepreneur Burthomley Douzable — and people are simply those with web sites on town’s web page of nominated candidates. 

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Osgoode: Former mayor and councillor desires again in

It wasn’t so way back that Doug Thompson turned his workplace over to the newly-elected councillor for Osgoode, George Darouze. 

Eight years after he opted to go away native politics, although, the previous metropolis councillor and final mayor of the previous township of Osgoode desires to signify the ward once more.

He’ll be difficult Darouze, who Thompson endorsed again in 2014 and has two phrases underneath his belt and the present title of deputy mayor. However Darouze has additionally had some high-profile stumbles in recent times — he apologized in 2020 for texting whereas driving and taking part in a council committee assembly and was discovered by town’s integrity commissioner in 2019 to have bullied a pair of constituents, who just lately dropped a lawsuit in opposition to him. 

A trio of Osgoode residents spherical out the race to signify the agricultural ward: Dan O’Brien, whose occupational background contains farming and build up a college bus enterprise; instructor Bob Masaro, taking one other run for the Osgoode ward council seat after pursuing it in 2010; and Bruce Faulkner, a truck driver and logistics operator who filed his papers Friday forward of the two p.m. registration deadline.

tblewett@postmedia.com