A safer, greener, more affordable, more caring and more dynamic Ottawa.
That’s the vision for the city that mayoral candidate Jim Watson is pitching to residents as the broad ideals that will form the basis of his campaign platform.
Watson said more details will be released in the buildup to the Oct. 25 election. Although he entered the mayor’s race in February and has been present at almost every community event since, Watson officially launched his campaign yesterday afternoon.
He plans to release his economic development strategy next week.
Watson promised to instill a new culture of frugality at city hall: “The era of $20,000 consultants studying plastic cows on roofs, or bylaws that harass gardeners in rural Ottawa or buskers in the market and cost overruns on OC Transpo bus garages must come to an end.”
With regard to safety, he said policing crime is not the only solution. He said the city needs to be more creative when it comes to engaging people in more economically challenged neighbourhoods.
Watson is also looking beyond just the next term of council. He spoke at length of how he wants to make Ottawa the focal point for Canada’s 150th anniversary celebrations. He said the Junos, the Genies, the NHL’s outdoor classic and the Grey Cup, should all be in Ottawa that year.
“Every major event ... will know that our city is the place to be in 2017,” he said.
There are now nine candidates running for mayor. Cesar Bello has become the latest person to register for the race.
Two more candidates will be joining the race in Gloucester-Southgate. Wade Wallace, a letter carrier with Canada Post, will be registering soon, as will Bluedrop Performance Learning director Lilly Obina. Iain McCallum is also planning to join the race in Rideau-Goulbourn.
- B.C. First Nation reviews its Enbridge deal
- Japanese emperor to have heart bypass surgery
- Romney ends losing streak with victory in Maine
- Whitney Houston, superstar of records, films, dies
- Alexander Wang gets Gisele Bundchen back on runway
- Man who gunned down Canadian wanted a phone
- Quebec man charged with murdering mother, nieces
x
Watson makes his pitch to Ottawa voters
Mayoral hopeful focuses on frugality, cutting crime in platform
tim wieclawski/metro ottawa
Mayoral candidate Jim Watson, left, officially launched his campaign at a party yesterday afternoon.
|
Add your comment |
_
|
Comments are not reviewed before posting. If you believe a comment has violated the commenting guidelines, please alert a moderator using links provided. |
| F E A T U R E D S P O N S O R S |
MORE GREAT SITES
Metronews.ca:
READ THE PRINT
EDITION ONLINE:
EDITION ONLINE:
Copyright 2001-2012, Free Daily News Group Inc.