The format for Thursday night’s two-hour gathering of Bay ward candidates lent itself less to a debate than to a vaguely chaotic all-candidates meeting.
Candidates took turns giving statements and answering questions, but there wasn’t much opportunity for them to argue directly against one another. Still, the event at Maki House in Crystal Beach allowed them to introduce themselves and outline their priorities.
Incumbent Mark Taylor is trying to win re-election against former ward councillor Alex Cullen, who’s running for his old job. George Guirguis, Brendan Mertens, Michael Pastien and Trevor Robinson are the other challengers.
Taylor, who won the ward in 2010 with 38 per cent of the vote, said he has focused on renewing “stalled projects” within the community and that would continue to be a top priority.
“We focused on things like pipes, parks, roads, paving and things that you focus on every single day,” he said. He also reiterated his 2010 pledge to serve only two terms, and cited council accomplishments such as the LRT, Lansdowne Park and the Ottawa River Action Plan.
“If you re-elect me this time as your councillor, you’ll have a new name and new face on the ballot in 2018.”
Cullen, who had the job for about a decade before he lost to Taylor in 2010 (he got 30 per cent of the vote), said he’s running because he feels the ward needs better representation, and he has a proven record of leadership.
“I’m not a go along, get along politician who votes 99 per cent with the mayor,” he said. “I show leadership for the community on local issues.”
Robinson, who has lived in the ward his entire life, said he would focus on making the city “functional, accessible and affordable.” He emphasized that he would be an accessible councillor, “whether you see me at a coffee shop or pumping gas,” and described himself as open-minded, driven and forward-thinking.
The ward extends from March Road in the west to Sherbourne Road/Maitland Avenue in the east, and from the Ottawa River to the Queensway. It has some aging public infrastructure, diverse neighbourhoods and residents closer to the river are concerned about flooding.
The debate sometimes veered away from ward-specific issues. Pastien spoke mostly about city-wide ideas. Mertens, who entered the race by releasing a series of anti-bear videos on YouTube, often used his time to open up the floor and interact with audience members.
But one issue that arose was the empty St. Thomas School on Leeming Drive, next door to Maki House, which the city bought in 2010 amid some local ambitions to turn it into a community centre. Cullen said it’s the biggest issue he’s heard about.
The site has been sold to be developed into 29 townhouses, Cullen said, and he wants to try to save it and turn it into community space.
“(Taylor) did not make an argument to save this building on behalf of this community, despite the fact that the community asked for it,” he said.
However, Taylor said the council direction to buy the property said community use would have to involve a levy for residents nearby, and if it didn’t, the property would have to be sold.
“We couldn’t get a ball game going. There was no private partner willing to come in and use the school,” he said. “Ultimately it became: the property’s getting sold, and our job was to find the least intense, best fit for the neighbourhood.”
Mertens, a health-care worker, admitted he doesn’t know much about politics, but he’s running because he’s “fed up” and “tired of the same-old, same-old.
“I’m a misfit rebel. I’m going to probably clash with this city, but that’s okay, because I’m going to be fighting for the right people,” he said.
Pastien, who ran for school board trustee four years ago, cast himself as an ideas man and a “fiscal realist.”
His ideas include turning the median on Carling into a bike lane and—outside of the ward—selling the downtown public library and moving it to Arts Court.
George Guirguis, who described himself as the “only right-wing candidate,” spent most of his time focused mostly on criticizing Taylor and Cullen for their office budgets as councillors.
But he used his closing statement to pay emotional tribute to the victims of last September’s fatal bus-train collision.
The election is Oct. 27.
This article was republished from: http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/bay-ward-hopefuls-square-off-at-all-candidates-meeting