By Ashley Fagan
With 18 years of city and regional politics behind her, Diane Holmes says she has one main advantage over fellow candidates running for Somerset Ward-experience.
From 1982 to her retirement in 2000, Holmes shifted from being a member of Ottawa City Council to sitting on the regional council. She says she’s now geared up to give municipal politics another shot.
“Centretown in particular is really a passion for me,” says Holmes. “I’ve spent 25 years living here and loving it… there’s still lots and lots of improvements to make.”
Her council experience gives her an edge, says Holmes, in working closely with community groups, the council staff and a budget.
“I know the full range of things you have to do,” says Holmes. “It takes a lot of work and a lot of communication, and it takes time.”
The prime factor in her platform is the strengthening of residential communities and key commercial streets, including Bank, Elgin, Sparks, Somerset and Preston.
“It’s really a symbiotic relationship between the residential and commercial streets,” Holmes says. “It’s a constant battle to make sure both the residential and commercial areas are strong and healthy.”
She says supporting the public transit system would help neighbourhoods by alleviating traffic. She says she wants a pedestrian bridge over the Rideau Canal by Somerset Street, linking to the University of Ottawa campus transit station.
Support for community gardens, tree planting and a concentration on making a greener Queensway are also high on Holmes’ list. She says tree planting will create a noise buffer and improve air quality in the area.
Holmes graduated from McGill University and later taught at McGill and the University of Toronto. She volunteered at local schools when her three children began attending.
By 1980, Holmes was president of the Centretown Community Association and Heritage Ottawa. Until recently, she also sat as a board member for the Women’s Action Centre Against Violence, and the Council for the Arts in Ottawa.
“I really feel very anchored and very much a part of this community,” she says.