11 new faces at Ottawa council table
Ottawa city council will have 11 new faces if you count mayor-elect Jim Watson, after several incumbents were defeated in Monday's municipal election.
Alex Cullen, the Bay ward councillor and former mayoral candidate, and fellow incumbents Glenn Brooks (Rideau-Goulbourn), Christine Leadman (Kitchissippi) and Rob Jellett (Cumberland) all lost.
Upsetting the incumbents were Mark Taylor in Bay ward, Scott Moffatt in Rideau-Goulbourn, Katherine Hobbs in Kitchissippi and Stephen Blais in Cumberland.
Tierney, Fleury win by slim margin
In Beacon Hill-Cyrville, Tim Tierney defeated Michel Bellemare by 181 votes, while in Rideau-Vanier, Mathieu Fleury defeated Georges Bédard by just 88 votes. Recounts are possible in both races.
The ward battles also featured four seats left vacant by councillors who were either running for mayor — as was the case with Coun. Clive Doucet from Capital ward — or retiring, as was the case with Rideau-Rockcliffe Coun. Jacques Legendre, Knoxdale-Merivale Coun. Gord Hunter and Kanata South Coun. Peggy Feltmate.
David Chernushenko won in Capital ward, Allan Hubley was the winner in Kanata South, Peter Clark won in Rideau-Rockcliffe and Keith Egli took Knoxdale-Merivale.
Council good for Watson: Robinson
Walter Robinson, a CBC election analyst and former chief of staff to defeated Mayor Larry O'Brien, said the new council should be favourable to efforts by Watson, the next mayor, to bring more fiscal responsibility to city hall.
"It's a council favourable to Watson, one that leans to the right, kind of a red Tory or blue Liberal council," Robinson said.
While Watson is likely to have supporters in the new council, Robinson said the new mayor's call to shrink council may not go over as well as plans to limit spending increases to 2.5 per cent a year.
The following councillors were re-elected:
- Ward 1 Orleans: Bob Monette.
- Ward 2 Innes: Rainer Bloess.
- Ward 3 Barrhaven: Jan Harder.
- Ward 4: Kanata North: Marianne Wilkinson.
- Ward 5 West-Carleton-March: Eli El-Chantiry.
- Ward 6 Stittsville-Kanata West: Shad Qadri.
- Ward 8 College: Rick Chiarelli.
- Ward 10 Gloucester-Southgate: Diane Deans.
- Ward 14 Somerset: Diane Holmes.
- Ward 16 River: Maria McRae.
- Ward 18 Alta Vista: Peter Hume.
- Ward 20 Osgoode: Doug Thompson.
- Ward 22 Gloucester-South Nepean: Steve Desroches.