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Nominations for mayor in the 2018 election don’t open for months, but Paul Dewar is spending long hours running by the Rideau Canal thinking about whether he belongs in the race.
“I’ve thought about it but I haven’t made any decisions at all,” the former Ottawa Centre New Democrat MP says. “A lot of people keep asking me … They’re seeing things not being run well and thinking we can do better. I don’t disagree with that.”
Ottawa’s potholed roads and battered infrastructure are signs that Mayor Jim Watson’s handling of the city budget has costs we’re seeing only after years of focusing on tax rates, Dewar says.
He’s also troubled by Watson’s playing favourites with budget information, springing a $10-million surplus on some dissenting councillors (mostly downtown ones) at council’s final meeting on its 2018 budget last fall. As an opposition member of Parliament, he struggled to get good information out of the government on things like the costs of fighting in Afghanistan, and he sees a similar hoarding of information in Ottawa’s mayor’s office.
The city budget is so opaque even experts have trouble understanding the documents laying it out, Dewar says, and that favours just one person: the mayor.
“Citizens should know what’s in budgets and how they work — and decision-makers should know, too,” Dewar says.
Jeff Leiper (left) chats with Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson.
The question Dewar says he’s asking himself is whether he’s the person to challenge Watson on these things, and whether he has an alternative program. He wants to “(make) sure that if I was to do it, that I’d have a vision of my own agenda, and not just be running to be running.”
Dewar is the son of the late pre-amalgamation mayor Marion Dewar, a former teacher and union leader, neighbourhood activist and NDP foreign-affairs critic. After he lost his federal seat to Liberal Catherine McKenna in 2015 he joined the boards of groups like Human Rights Watch, promoting international development and democracy.
Urban-minded left-wingers haven’t done well in citywide elections since amalgamation. Alex Munter came second in the race for mayor in 2006; Clive Doucet came third in 2010; Alex Cullen ran for mayor that year but dropped out early. Dewar acknowledges that history but says it doesn’t necessarily matter: Local politics doesn’t have to be ideological and it’s certainly not partisan.
“You’re not straitjacketed by party or the notion that you are this or are that — there’s a lot more dimension than that,” he says. Whether the roads are in good shape and how the mayor shares budget information aren’t left-right issues.
Also, Dewar points out he grew up near Maitland and Carling avenues. It’s not Orléans but it’s not downtown, either. It certainly wasn’t in the 1960s.
“I grew up in the suburbs, essentially. I found that when I worked on the Hill, I worked with people from all parties and districts to get things done,” Dewar says.
Watson, who says he’ll run for re-election, remains formidable after eight years in office. He’s not riddled with scandal; you might disagree with him or dislike his style, but you’ll never find his hand in the cookie jar. He’s popular and he has a powerful political machine. A poll (albeit a year ago) found him with a sky-high approval rating of 79 per cent, the highest among big-city mayors in Canada.
Mind you, the same poll found Montreal mayor Denis Coderre with 62-per-cent approval against 30-per-cent disapproval, and voters kicked him out last fall in favour of Valérie Plante. It’s not just who you are and how popular you are, it’s who’s running against you. At this point in 2006, I’d have said Bob Chiarelli was the massive favourite to be re-elected — in fact, I did say that — and he ended up falling to third place by election day, behind Munter on the left and Larry O’Brien on the right.
Playing the role of O’Brien, but smarter and more experienced, might be Sen. Vern White.
He’s much cagier than Dewar at the moment, acknowledging in a short email exchange only that people have raised the idea with him and that “there are many things to consider of course.” That’s not much but it’s not a “no way.”
Sen. Vern White talks during a meeting at the Kanata Rec Centre organized by We The Parents, a local group that has pointed to an epidemic of opioid abuse in Ottawa’s west end and says it has no choice but to launch its own treatment and prevention program.
White’s mused about running for election at all levels before, even reportedly talked about it with provincial and federal leaders, but never gone for it.
If White did run for mayor now, he’d be a suburban conservative with a law-and-order background. He could talk credibly about issues from opioids and supervised injection sites to marijuana legalization (as mayor he couldn’t control either, but he would manage the city’s handling of them, and has spoken in favour of prescribing “clean” opioids to replace street drugs). Not to mention how the police have struggled with low morale and allegations of racism and brutality.
The Senate isn’t city hall but five years in the daily grind of politics and policy, committees and consensus and time on the governing side and now in opposition, will have seasoned the career copper — though it hasn’t taken away his reputation for bluntness.
The former Mountie and city police chief would have to quit the Senate to run for mayor: under Ontario law, sitting provincial or federal legislators aren’t eligible for municipal office. Being a senator is a $150,000-a-year job until 2034 if White wants it, though when Stephen Harper appointed him in 2012, White promised to quit after nine years.
If White left the Senate in 2021, he’d have time for a break and a campaign for mayor in 2022 if he felt like it then. That’s another thing to consider. And the top job at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, which White has previously sought, is open again and has been for months.
Watson, Dewar and White are three middle-aged Anglo white guys. But they’re three guys who are at least ideologically diverse, with party affiliations that would give them natural bases of support to build on.
Each election is its own thing and this one isn’t until October. Nominations don’t even open until May, and there’s a provincial election in June. Stuff can happen. But that Watson has two competent opponents at least thinking of challenging him is good news for the city. The more good choices, the better.
dreevely@postmedia.com
twitter.com/davidreevely
查看原文...
“I’ve thought about it but I haven’t made any decisions at all,” the former Ottawa Centre New Democrat MP says. “A lot of people keep asking me … They’re seeing things not being run well and thinking we can do better. I don’t disagree with that.”
Ottawa’s potholed roads and battered infrastructure are signs that Mayor Jim Watson’s handling of the city budget has costs we’re seeing only after years of focusing on tax rates, Dewar says.
He’s also troubled by Watson’s playing favourites with budget information, springing a $10-million surplus on some dissenting councillors (mostly downtown ones) at council’s final meeting on its 2018 budget last fall. As an opposition member of Parliament, he struggled to get good information out of the government on things like the costs of fighting in Afghanistan, and he sees a similar hoarding of information in Ottawa’s mayor’s office.
The city budget is so opaque even experts have trouble understanding the documents laying it out, Dewar says, and that favours just one person: the mayor.
“Citizens should know what’s in budgets and how they work — and decision-makers should know, too,” Dewar says.
Jeff Leiper (left) chats with Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson.
The question Dewar says he’s asking himself is whether he’s the person to challenge Watson on these things, and whether he has an alternative program. He wants to “(make) sure that if I was to do it, that I’d have a vision of my own agenda, and not just be running to be running.”
Dewar is the son of the late pre-amalgamation mayor Marion Dewar, a former teacher and union leader, neighbourhood activist and NDP foreign-affairs critic. After he lost his federal seat to Liberal Catherine McKenna in 2015 he joined the boards of groups like Human Rights Watch, promoting international development and democracy.
Urban-minded left-wingers haven’t done well in citywide elections since amalgamation. Alex Munter came second in the race for mayor in 2006; Clive Doucet came third in 2010; Alex Cullen ran for mayor that year but dropped out early. Dewar acknowledges that history but says it doesn’t necessarily matter: Local politics doesn’t have to be ideological and it’s certainly not partisan.
“You’re not straitjacketed by party or the notion that you are this or are that — there’s a lot more dimension than that,” he says. Whether the roads are in good shape and how the mayor shares budget information aren’t left-right issues.
Also, Dewar points out he grew up near Maitland and Carling avenues. It’s not Orléans but it’s not downtown, either. It certainly wasn’t in the 1960s.
“I grew up in the suburbs, essentially. I found that when I worked on the Hill, I worked with people from all parties and districts to get things done,” Dewar says.
Watson, who says he’ll run for re-election, remains formidable after eight years in office. He’s not riddled with scandal; you might disagree with him or dislike his style, but you’ll never find his hand in the cookie jar. He’s popular and he has a powerful political machine. A poll (albeit a year ago) found him with a sky-high approval rating of 79 per cent, the highest among big-city mayors in Canada.
Mind you, the same poll found Montreal mayor Denis Coderre with 62-per-cent approval against 30-per-cent disapproval, and voters kicked him out last fall in favour of Valérie Plante. It’s not just who you are and how popular you are, it’s who’s running against you. At this point in 2006, I’d have said Bob Chiarelli was the massive favourite to be re-elected — in fact, I did say that — and he ended up falling to third place by election day, behind Munter on the left and Larry O’Brien on the right.
Playing the role of O’Brien, but smarter and more experienced, might be Sen. Vern White.
He’s much cagier than Dewar at the moment, acknowledging in a short email exchange only that people have raised the idea with him and that “there are many things to consider of course.” That’s not much but it’s not a “no way.”
Sen. Vern White talks during a meeting at the Kanata Rec Centre organized by We The Parents, a local group that has pointed to an epidemic of opioid abuse in Ottawa’s west end and says it has no choice but to launch its own treatment and prevention program.
White’s mused about running for election at all levels before, even reportedly talked about it with provincial and federal leaders, but never gone for it.
If White did run for mayor now, he’d be a suburban conservative with a law-and-order background. He could talk credibly about issues from opioids and supervised injection sites to marijuana legalization (as mayor he couldn’t control either, but he would manage the city’s handling of them, and has spoken in favour of prescribing “clean” opioids to replace street drugs). Not to mention how the police have struggled with low morale and allegations of racism and brutality.
The Senate isn’t city hall but five years in the daily grind of politics and policy, committees and consensus and time on the governing side and now in opposition, will have seasoned the career copper — though it hasn’t taken away his reputation for bluntness.
The former Mountie and city police chief would have to quit the Senate to run for mayor: under Ontario law, sitting provincial or federal legislators aren’t eligible for municipal office. Being a senator is a $150,000-a-year job until 2034 if White wants it, though when Stephen Harper appointed him in 2012, White promised to quit after nine years.
If White left the Senate in 2021, he’d have time for a break and a campaign for mayor in 2022 if he felt like it then. That’s another thing to consider. And the top job at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, which White has previously sought, is open again and has been for months.
Watson, Dewar and White are three middle-aged Anglo white guys. But they’re three guys who are at least ideologically diverse, with party affiliations that would give them natural bases of support to build on.
Each election is its own thing and this one isn’t until October. Nominations don’t even open until May, and there’s a provincial election in June. Stuff can happen. But that Watson has two competent opponents at least thinking of challenging him is good news for the city. The more good choices, the better.
dreevely@postmedia.com
twitter.com/davidreevely
查看原文...
