Last-minute entries push slate of candidates to over 200 for election this fall

Zainab Alsalihiy just wasn’t sure if she would run for city council.

The 39-year-old civil servant and single mother of two had already collected the necessary 25 signatures but it was not until Friday afternoon at 1:26 p.m., sitting at her home in Findlay Creek, that she decided to take the plunge.

“I looked at the GPS, and it said I’ll be there at 1:59 a.m. and I’m like, I still have time,” Alsalihiy said.

The deadline was 2 p.m.

Indeed, Alsalihiy slipped into the town office on Cyrville Road just as election officer Michèle Rochette came out into the parking lot, bellowing to anyone within earshot that the nominations were about to close. to end. And once the doors were locked, anyone leaving the building would not be allowed to re-enter.

This caused a momentary panic for Alsalihiy, who thought she had left her ID in the car, but she ended up having the required documents. She said people just need to “trust the universe” and themselves. She is now a candidate in Riverside South-Findlay Creek.

Alsalihiy was the last person to register to run in the municipal elections this fall, but far from the only one to leave that decision to the last minute. Two dozen people walked through the doors of the Ottawa elections office on Friday.

Jacob Solomon, 19, ran for mayor, bringing the total number of candidates to 14.

This long list of candidates means that for the first time, municipal election ballots will have to be printed on legal-length paper.

Josh Rachlis had his required 25 signatures ready to go – but was unsure which position he wanted to run for. He chose the position of school trustee, while sitting in the waiting room of the elections office.

And then there is Kim Leclerc. He worked in federal politics for years and wanted to run for office, but wasn’t sure the time was right for his young family. In fact, his wife had a baby earlier this week, but she insisted he sign up because he was always talking about how he wanted to make a difference.

So after visiting their postnatal doctor this morning, Leclerc ran to get the rest of the signatures he needed and gathered his documentation, before arriving at the office after lunch.

“It was a crazy day,” he said.

Leclerc is now the 10th person to show up in Rideau-Vanier, the most of any ward.

In the end, 210 people registered to run for the October 24 elections: 14 for mayor, 106 for councilor seats and 90 for school trustee positions. Eight candidates for the two French school boards were acclaimed.

1st mayoral race opened in a decade

This will be the first election in more than a decade where Jim Watson’s name will not appear on the ballot. But other familiar names will be.

Former Mayor and Liberal Cabinet Minister Bob Chiarelli registered to run on the first day that nominations opened, May 2. Since then, he has promised to freeze property taxes and spending for 2023 if elected.

Current County of Somerset County. Catherine McKenney (who uses the pronoun they/they) spent the summer campaigning to make Ottawa the greenest, healthiest and most “connected” city in Canada, “where everyone has a place to call home. “. Their full platform is expected after Labor Day.

Well known broadcaster and entrepreneur Mark Sutcliffe entered the race just before Canada Day. It promises a safer city by providing “adequate” funding for police, firefighters and paramedics, and being “tough on the causes of crime”. He also promises to keep taxes and recreation fees “as low as possible.”

Also registered in the race for mayor Brandon BrayZed Chebib, Bernard Couchman, Celine Debassige, Gregory Guevara, Nour Kadri, Graham MacDonald, mike maguire, Ade Olumide, Param Singh and already mentioned Solomon.

Rick Chiarelli doesn’t show up for college

In 2020, City Council and Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark both called on Rick Chiarelli to resign, but he refused. Now, for the first time in nearly four decades, Chiarelli will not run for public office. .

Ottawa city councilors vote unanimously to demand Chiarelli’s resignation

Councilors on Wednesday expressed their disgust and regret at the council’s reports. Rick Chiarelli’s conduct towards former staff members before voting unanimously to impose the harshest sentences available to sanction him.

By a statement from his office in June, Chiarelli said he expected to run for his re-election and had made an appointment for Thursday evening. But he did not show up for this appointment and did not register either on the last day of registration.

In 2020, Chiarelli’s salary was suspended for 450 days due to behavior by the then-city integrity commissioner deemed sexual harassment.

Since then, the College ward councilor has faces shocking new allegations, but since the investigation by the current Integrity Commissioner was not completed on Friday, it must be suspended for the duration of the election campaign. And since Chiarelli does not race, we do not know if it will be finished.

At least 12 new faces

That someone new replace Watson, Ottawa’s longest-serving mayor, makes this race one of the most important for more than a decade. But considering that nearly half the faces around the board table will be different, 2022 is shaping up to be a real election for change.

Of the 25 seats that will make up the council for the next term – the Barrhaven East ward is added to represent the fast-growing community – at least 12 will be newcomers.

Incumbents who no longer run, in addition to Chiarelli, include Rideau-Vanier Mathieu FleuryEli El-Chantiry at West-Carleton March, Diane Deans Gloucester-Southgate, Jan Harder in what will be called Barrhaven West, Keith Egli of Knoxdale-Merivale, Scott Moffatt of the Rideau Jock neighborhood and John Cloutier in Alta Vista.

With McKenney running for mayor, Somerset will also elect a new representative. And term councilor Carol Anne Meehan had originally planned to run again in Gloucester-South Nepean, but removed at the end of last monthsaying it was time to check off items on her “to do list”.

Lame Ducks and Mail-In Ballots

City Clerk Rick O’Connor was able to certify all 210 nomination forms Friday night, meaning all of those names will be on the ballot in the fall, even if the candidates change their minds about the wanting the job.

O’Connor also sent a memo on Friday evening reminding the council that they are now operating under so-called “lame duck” provisions. Because so many incumbents are not returning, the council cannot re-spend or sell land worth more than $50,000.

Some of the ward boundaries will change for the 2022 election and Rochette recommends residents verify which ward they live in by entering their address using the “Who comes to my service?”, online tool.

For the first time, voters in Ottawa will be able to vote by mail. The city first tried it in the 2020 Cumberland by-election and is rolling it out across the city this year. Residents will need to apply for a special ballot, which they can do between Sept. 1 and Sept. 16 once the voters list is finalized.

For those who vote in person, there will be six days of advance voting beginning later in September, in addition to Election Day on October 24.