Congratulations, Mayor O'Brien!

It's the end of a long roller coaster of a municipal campaign. But, boy, it was worth it to take it right to the end.

Congratulations, Larry.

You educate quickly and you improve meteorically. Your leadership and bias for action will serve well at city hall and, while there will be frustrations from time to time with the pace of your progress, your skills at persuading will result in consensus around the chambers more often than not.

It's been an honour and pleasure to be involved with the many gifted and determined members of the Larry O'Brien campaign team.

And they said it couldn't be done......
(Now I understand how you won that plowing competition. Failure is not an option with you.)

Some Coverage...

Larry king of the capital - Ottawa Sun

O'Brien's win put a fairy-tale ending to a political Cinderella story. When the founder and former CEO of Calian Technologies entered the mayor's race in early August, both Chiarelli and Munter wrote him off, saying he lacked concrete plans to deliver his promises.

Within the first few weeks, his campaign faltered, with several key campaign workers sent packing. But the man who many political watchers laughed off became a menacing juggernaut in the final weeks before yesterday's election.

The hi-tech magnate came within striking distance of seizing the mayor's chair, with numerous polls putting the race at a dead heat between O'Brien and Munter.

Surprising election result - Ottawa Citizen

Heading into the race, Mr. O'Brien didn't even have name recognition. In August, when he announced he was running, hardly anyone outside of business circles knew who he was, and there were some serious stumbles in the first few weeks of his run.

The founder and board chairman of Calian Technology had been active in charity fundraising, but he was probably best-known for a suggestion he made in 1999. Mr. O'Brien said Canada should abolish the Canadian dollar in favour of U.S. currency and integrate the Canadian economy more with that of the United States.

His opponents tried to make hay out of this when he announced he was running, but it did not stick.

Then, early in the campaign, key members of his team quit. And he responded to some media questions with answers that showed he had little understanding of city government. He didn't know that all city workers were unionized, for example, and didn't know that the city administered welfare.

Correspondingly, the first polls with his name on the ballot showed him with four-per-cent support. At the time, several political observers and campaign opponents wrote him off.

Later, Mr. O'Brien said, "We stubbed our toe in the beginning. I have to admit that."

But then, two things happened to turn the tide.

First, former mayoral candidate Terry Kilrea dropped out of the race, leaving Mr. O'Brien as the only strongly right-of-centre candidate on the ballot. Second, he got his campaign team issues sorted out when several of Mr. Kilrea's former communications people and strategists offered their services.

Mr. O'Brien brought them on board, and they are part of the reason for his success.

With these people guiding him, his transformation was palpable. In a few days, he went from an awkward, tentative speaker with not very well thought-out policies, to a smooth populist with firmer ideas.

Childhood dream falls short this time - Ottawa Citizen

"A vote for Alex Munter is a vote for a tax-and-spend social agenda that the people of Ottawa simply cannot afford," Mr. O'Brien repeated during the campaign. Yesterday, even as voting went on, Mr. O'Brien could be heard on radio hammering at the point.

Work right to the end and ALWAYS campaign like you're a vote behind.

Reminder: Vote For REAL Change Today!!!

As the campaign reaches its conclusion, there is but one task left: Get Out The Vote!! Again, all right thinking Ottawans are summoned to the call to engage and exercise your privilege and vote for the only option to prevent our municipality's fiscal decay from escalating. It's time for "organizational renewal", as it was put so succinctly by a CFRA caller this morning.

This gentleman knew what he was talking about from his many years of experience with organizational renewal intitiatives both here and in Washington, D.C. As many of us had been thinking and preaching all along, this man, too, believes Larry O'Brien will provide the necessary leadership to achieve such renewal.

Vote. Vote now. And urge friends, family members and neighbors who may still be hesitant, to vote for Larry O'Brien for Mayor.

Below is Larry O'Brien's phone message from yesterday. You're encouraged to listen and then act in helping to stop our fiscal hemorrhaging, induced by Munterelli. Thank you.



HT: Splatto

A Call To Action For All Right Thinking Ottawans

Tomorrow is E-Day.

It's the most important election in the history of the city of Ottawa... for two fundamental reasons.

1) This is the first of the four-year municipal terms as so legislated by the province of Ontario. That means an extra 365 days of agony should we mess this one up and we either get Tax and Spend or Taxer and Spender as our mayor. This is also very important when considering your choice for councillor, so I hope you've been keeping good notes in your ward. (see post below, if yer stuck)

2) As both of the Munterelli's have been trying like mad to turn this election into a referendum on light rail, let me say this about THAT!

It has been called the single most important transportation project and capital expenditure in the history of this city. We can debate the capital issue until we're all blue in the face when factoring in the various economic climates, rates of inflation, etceteryadaya. But consider this:

The biggest transportation project in our history was the Rideau Canal. In 1832, Colonel John By was recalled to London due to his inability to control the cost of constructing the Rideau Canal. By's cost overrun was less than 43% against the June 1828 estimates. Initial O-Train estimates were $600 million with an original municipal commitment of one third. As the project's runaway costs top $1 billion, the city's portion, now at $600 million, is already 200% over-budget before it begins.

This is an intolerable development. Col. By was called home for a paltry 43% overrun by comparison and people (though not many, these days) are still considering Bob Chiarelli for another term.

If this, indeed, is a referendum on LRT (which I don't think it should be) then there is only one logical choice: Larry O'Brien.

Alex Munter thinks he can solve the issue East-West, North-South, Up-Down and inside out within two weeks of wielding the gavel. As O'Brien says, all Munter will succeed in changing is the colour of the train in that amount of time.

And further to my argument, Munter will only somehow succeed in adding to the already miserable cost overrun and further contribute to the fiscal tailspin.

This, by the way, is not a referendum on Light Rail. It's a referendum on responsible Leadership.

Munter doesn't possess it. Chiarelli fails to exercise it. O'Brien owns it and he consistently displays it.

DO YOUR PART

Take some time this evening and visit Larry O'Brien's website. Please copy and paste the open email from former mayor Jacqueline Holzman and send it to your friends, relatives and neighbors who are either supporting O'Brien or leaning toward him. I can't possibly come up with more urgent words than hers.

This is important.

Alex Munter, as reported in the Citizen today, is doing the same grass-roots email plea for support and turnout. Bob Chiarelli will, no doubt, be doing the same. He's likely to have people on hand to perform traditional Liberal campaign tasks (catch drift HERE - this for effect to underscore the Munterelli moniker) as well.

Let's not fail in this effort. Let's not fail ourselves. Let's not fail Ottawa!

One more thing: A wake-up call to RENTERS:

Recent Decima findings:

Also, 51 per cent of homeowners say they are leaning toward supporting Mr. O'Brien, while 60 per cent of renters say Mr. Munter is their choice.

This about THAT ONE:

Renters may not be that concerned with property taxes because they don't pay them directly. But if the landlord's taxes go up, their rents will increase proportionately. Though, they may not feel it this year, they will definitely see an increase at renewal and a substantial hike should they decide to move to another rental unit. You pay taxes even if you rent. The costs are included in your lease. You pay and you'll pay more if you end up with Munterelli.

Lastly.

Larry O'Brien will not be gutting city hall. He will not be indiscriminately cutting services. He will not be rampaging on some slash and burn firing spree. Those are the accusations of scare mongerers with no intention of arming themselves with the facts.

Larry O'Brien has done nothing but grow, develop and evolve everything he's been involved with. There is no reason to doubt that this man can utilize the resources at his disposal and make our city's workings more efficient and make the very staff within our city even more proud of the work they do and services they deliver to us; The very people who employ them.

Tomorrow's Election Day. Engage and Activate... and exercise the very democratic privilege that so many fought to establish and, subsequently, so many others fought to preserve for you to possess.

Let's git' er done!!

Pickin' & Grinnin': Ottawa Ward By Ward

Ottawa Sun columnist Sue Sherring has made her ward picks for tomorrow's municipal election. Let's read along together, shall we?

WARD 1: ORLEANS

Sure, he's never going to set the world on fire with his earnest little speeches at council, but there's enough hot air in that place anyway. In a short time, (Bob)Monette has proven he's listening to his ward's residents.


.... Monette has had too short a stint for an accurate report card.

WARD 2: INNES

A strong nod goes to Bloess

.... Yup.

WARD 3: BARRHAVEN

..residents love the fact that Harder speaks her mind, political correctness be damned

.... But for Harder to be one of the so-called fiscally responsible councillors, she blew it transparently with the North-South vote. She should have been stronger and told her constituents that they deserve better.

WARD 4: KANATA NORTH

Anu Bose stands out in the crowded field by recognizing the importance of transportation for her ward. With a PhD in development administration, with a specialization in waste management, her expertise could be put to good use in the days and months ahead as council wrestles with what to do with its growing mountain of garbage.

.... Little profile and the new ward is a toss up. Watch for Muirhead.

WARD 5: WEST-CARLETON-MARCH

J.P. Dorion just can't compete with El-Chantiry's record of success. Voters in West Carleton-March should mark their X beside the incumbent's name.

.... Eli's gotta go! Anyone remember the Willola Beach Boat By-pass flip flop???
Dorion's been working the ward a lot longer that Eli's been aware of.

WARD 6: STITTSVILLE-KANATA WEST

Small business owner Shad Qadri has emerged as the star candidate. A longtime volunteer in the community, Qadri has a strong understanding of the issues in the ward.

.... Flip a coin.

WARD 7: BAY

Terry Kilrea a chance to show his stuff. Kilrea is a quick study, and we believe his sincerity will shine through. Cullen's efforts have included meddling in issues that don't involve him and serve no purpose other than to bog down city business. Kilrea did the right thing in exiting the mayor's race and is our strong choice for Bay councillor.

.... Kilrea awkwardly wedged himself into Ward 7 with a lot of heft and surprise, prompting vitriolic response from one-time supporter Sherril Noble. But Noble should have done the sensible thing and put her ego aside, joining forces with Kilrea. Cullen may return because of a split between Noble and Kilrea. Terry has better profile and would be a terrific representative.

WARD 8: COLLEGE

We would have loved to see Chiarelli face some serious opposition this time around, but we haven't seen anything to convince us there's a better alternative. As such, residents in the newly named College ward would do well to mark the X beside Chiarelli's name one more time.

.... I live in the ward. Rick's done a lot that doesn't get noticed. He's also been quite effective on the library board.

WARD 9: KNOXDALE-MERIVALE

It would have been far better for Knoxdale-Merivale residents if incumbent Gord Hunter was facing some real opposition this time around. We believe the longtime politician serves his residents, but they deserve a real choice come election time.

.... might just be the wisdom of some who recognize that Hunter keeps earning it.

WARD 10: GLOUCESTER-SOUTHGATE

Residents of Gloucester-Southgate will be happy to see Deans returned to council.

.... Which is why I live in College Ward.

WARD 11: BEACON HILL-CYRVILLE

We'd love to see Michel Bellemare engaged in his job. But we don't. He speaks from time to time, but having watched him for several years now, and we still don't have any idea of why he continues to run for council. Unfortunately, we don't see any fire in the belly of his opponent, Frank Reid.

.... They can't all shine around the council table. Bellemare does float under the radar frequently but he's at least steady.

WARD 12: RIDEAU-VANIER

A strong advocate for francophone rights, Bedard is an easy choice for re-election.

.... Of course. It's Rideau-Vanier.

WARD 13: RIDEAU-ROCKCLIFFE

Jules Bouvier, a city employee, has emerged from the pack with some inside nuts and bolts on how to do things better.

.... Always wondered how Jacques Legendre does it.

WARD 14: SOMERSET

We fear her (Diane Holmes) defeat would be council 's loss. Luc Lapointe is her closest opponent, a strong candidate who knows the ward, understands the issues and has a solid grasp of financial management.

.... Just answered your own concern with that one, Sue!

WARD 15: KITCHISSIPPI

..the nod has to go to Christine Leadman, the executive director of the Westboro Business Improvement Area, who we feel has a better grasp on how to handle taxpayer dollars.

.... Amen!

WARD 16: RIVER

(Maria)McRae is doing just that, with a proven track record of working in the community. She's earned re-election in River.

.... Hallelujah!


WARD 17: CAPITAL

It's time for Doucet to take up poetry full-time and we expect he'll be back at council after the election, looking for an arts grant to help pay the bills. The nod goes to Jay Nordenstrom, who fits the bill in this urban ward.

.... Praise the Lord!!!!

WARD 18: ALTA VISTA

Though a race is on, (Peter) Hume is the only one of the six-pack who has what it takes to lead Alta Vista residents through the next four years.

.... Solid choice!

WARD 19: CUMBERLAND

With three years under his belt, Jellett deserves a second term in Cumberland to show us what he's got.

.... Pretty big belt and, yes, he likely will deliver more.

WARD 20: OSGOODE

...we can count on him to have a parochial viewpoint with little regard to the city as a whole. Unfortunately, (Doug) Thompson doesn't appear to have any solid opposition. Not even his only opponent thinks he stands a chance of winning.

.... He also got worked over by Bob on the LRT vote. Get a backbone Thompson!

WARD 21: RIDEAU-GOULBOURN

Our tip of the hat goes to Scott Moffatt, a youthful candidate who has proven to be a breath of fresh air in a council that has too many egos, bad ideas and campaigns based on bashing their opponents.

.... Fresh blood, perhaps, but don't jack Glenn Brooks for addressing the rural disconnect. I hear, too, that change is in the air in 21.

WARD 22: GLOUCESTER-SOUTH NEPEAN

Former regional chair and Nepean mayor Andy Haydon will work hard on their behalf and speak his mind as he does it. He's solid on the issues and understands and cares about both the ward and the city.

.... flip a coin here. But Haydon would fit in well and bring a lot of horse power to the chambers.

WARD 23: KANATA SOUTH

Feltmate is a rarity around council -- a sincere politician who is there for all the right reasons. She wants to work hard, serve her residents, and better both her ward and the city. No need to look elsewhere in Kanata South.

.... Can never find the perfect councillor, anyway. In this case, Ward 23 was hard pressed to find profile opponents, too.