17 candidates crowd ballot for Rideau-Rockcliffe byelection

Seventeen people are running to replace Tobi Nussbaum as city councillor for Rideau-Rockcliffe.

Rideau-Rockliffe's second municipal race in less than six months was triggered when Nussbaum, fresh off his re-election in late October, was named the new CEO of the National Capital Commission in December.

• Tobi Nussbaum named new CEO of National Capital Commission
• Rideau-Rockcliffe going back to the polls April 15

Nussbaum took 80 per cent of the vote in the last election, topping his only rival, Peter Heyck, 7,334 votes to 1,774.

This urban ward is one of the more diverse areas in the city, with about 40,000 residents living in about 20,000 homes.

Issues include affordable housing, programs for at-risk youth, preserving and creating green space in an era of infill development, and improved transit service.

An increase in shooting incidents over the last few years has also raised concerns about gang violence.

The first day election signs can go up on public property is March 16, and advance voting starts April 5.

Now that the deadline to register has passed, here's who will be on the ballot for the April 15 vote:

• Kasia Adamiec
• ​Idris Ben-Tahir
• Marc Dorgeville
• Bruce Faulkner
• Johan Hamels
• ​Peter Heyck
• ​Miklos Horvath
• Peter Karwacki
• Rawlson King
• Jerry Kovacs
• Jamie Kwong
• ​Maurice Lamirande
• Patrick Mayangi
• Oriana Ngabirano
• Chris Penton
• ​Sheila Perry
• Penny Thompson

Kasia Adamiec

Adamiec has sat on Ottawa police and Crime Stoppers boards and committees and works at the Parole Board of Canada.

She says she'll tackle crime by funding a return to community policing; also using landscaping and better lighting as ways to prevent crime, along with encouraging economic development.

She wants to extend local library hours on Sundays and says she won't accept the city's annual car allowance.

​Idris Ben-Tahir​

Ben-Tahir registered on Friday and has not posted a campaign website. 

Ben-Tahir is a veteran of the Royal Canadian Air Force and a member of both the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute and the Royal Aeronautical Society.

He ran to become mayor in Ottawa in 2010. 

In a statement, he said he wants to improve the quality of living for the diverse community of Rideau-Rockcliffe.

Marc Dorgeville

​The climate scientist has a PhD from a French university and has worked in Australia, Toronto and Ottawa. He settled in New Edinburgh in 2011 and switched to a job in accounting, according to his website.

Dorgeville has been a budget counsellor for people in vulnerable situations, and has provided financial advice to the New Edinburgh News. He has also volunteered with local francophone schools.

Dorgeville says he wants to build more social housing, make transit more affordable and help residents who want to rely less on their vehicles, which would help the city reach its climate goals.

Bruce Faulkner

Faulkner's campaign website has no biographical information.

A Bruce Faulkner ran for the Libertarian Party in Ottawa Centre in the last provincial election, and in Kanata South in the 2014 municipal election.

We've reached out to Faulkner's campaign to ask for more information about them and will update the story if and when we hear back.

Johan Hamels

Hamel has been executive director of both the Canadian and Belgian Green parties before becoming a climate change and renewable energy consultant.

The Manor Park resident has also held roles on parent groups with schools and school boards.

Hamels is calling for fewer exceptions to the city's official plans, making more affordable housing available and making roads safer.

Peter Heyck

Heyck was Nussbaum's only challenger in October, when he promised to dedicate more money to policing, economic development and keeping roads and sidewalks maintained.

He told CBC News in an email that he wants Ottawa to be a leader on issues such as the environment, affordable housing, community policing, and access to public transit.

Heyck has not yet posted a campaign website.

Miklos Horvath

According to Horvath, he spent his "formative years" in the U.K. and France before coming back to Canada to get bachelors and masters degrees from Carleton.

He's worked as an auditor for several government departments and volunteers with his childrens' choir and school.

Horvath's platform focuses on making transit more reliable and safe, making more buildings accessible to people with disabilities and following the city's official plans more closely.

He's in favour of returning to the community policing model and getting OC Transpo driver shields installed quickly.

Peter Karwacki

Karwacki says he's been an administrator for three unspecified hospitals and sat on a school board for three years.

He's critical of the city's growing debt, says it could be better prepared for the effects of climate change and thinks Ottawa could use more community spaces inspired by the annual Burning Man festival.

Rawlson King

King ran in the last municipal election as a candidate for public school trustee in an area just to the east of the ward.

He's president of the Overbrook Community Association and is on the new Ottawa Police Service Community Equity Council.

His pledges include giving perks to small businesses in "economically challenged areas," making sure the city's official planning documents take climate change into account, build affordable housing and fund after-school programs, calm traffic and add bike lanes.

Jerry Kovacs

Kovacs registered on Friday and has not posted a campaign website. A Jerry Kovacs ran in Somerset ward in last fall's election, when he placed second behind incumbent Catherine McKenney with more than 14 per cent of the vote.

We've reached out to Kovacs's campaign to ask for more information about them and will update the story if and when we hear back.

Jamie Kwong

​The former leader of the Quartier Vanier Business Improvement Area and the Orléans Chamber of Commerce has a criminology masters from the University of Ottawa and has been a support workers for women in violent situations.

She says as councillor she would support francophone rights, multi-use mixed housing development that also respects the area's heritage and more funding for environmental initiatives.

​Maurice Lamirande

The former French Catholic school board trustee and ex-president of the Centre Francophone de Vanier says he's running a fully self-funded campaign without taking contributions.

He wants to restore weekly garbage pickup in the summer, lower OC Transpo fares for students and seniors and improve snow removal on roads and sidewalks.

Patrick Mayangi

He's worked alongside the Catholic Centre for Immigrants Ottawa and the Multifaith Housing Initiative and has also done research in Germany, Spain and Belgium as part of his Carleton University masters degree in European, Russian and Eurasian Studies.

The three pillars of his platform are affordable housing, youth and community wellbeing, including promises to waive building permit fees for developers that build affordable units and revitalizing the Montreal Road and St. Laurent Boulevard area.

He says he's fluent in English, French. German and Lingala, a language spoken by about 70 million people worldwide; many in Congo and the Republic of Congo.

Oriana Ngabirano

The communications consultant has worked with Refugee 613 and Rideau-Vanier councillor Mathieu Fleury's campaign team during the last city election.

She also sits on the board of directors of the Vanier Community Service Centre. 

Her platform includes making OC Transpo cheaper for young people ages 13 to 19, more public health resources for crime prevention and launching a new multicultural festival.

Chris Penton

Penton founded the Beechwood Market and works as a business development manager for people in the agricultural industry.

He says he also volunteers with his son's Scouts group.

He'd work to cut red tape and attract more businesses and services to the ward, make a new sustainable development plan and cutting down on "cut-through" traffic on New Edinburgh's side streets.

Sheila Perry

Perry has taught from pre-school to high school, university and adult education, and has been a community volunteer for years, according to her campaign website.

She ran for election in Rideau-Rockcliffe in 2014, when she placed third behind Nussbaum and incumbent Peter Clark. Last June, Perry was elected president of the Federation of Citizens' Associations of Ottawa. She was named "Volunteer of the Year" for 2018 by Crime Prevention Ottawa.

Perry wants to focus on improving neighbourhood safety by encouraging more activities for all ages and making communities more pedestrian and cyclist friendly, but she also advocates for increased police presence. 

She also promises to vote for development that protects the heritage and character of the ward's neighbhourhoods.

Penny Thompson

Thompson has led community associations and served on the board of United Way committees.

She says she wants to make more services available for seniors, young people and families and create a safe, accessible and responsibly-developed downtown core.