After building himself a multi-million dollar high-tech firm from only $35, mayor-elect Larry O’Brien has now been entrusted with his next great conquest: to salvage and re-engineer a crumbling corporation, mired in uncertainty, with a net worth of more than $2 billion.
No, not a Fortune 500 company left over from Ottawa’s tech boom, but rather the City of Ottawa.
Following O’Brien’s landslide victory in last week’s election, you could assume that voters were casting their ballots in the name of change at City Hall for the next four years.
After all, O’Brien, a political neophyte, represented ostensible change and was proud of it.
During the campaign, he showed resiliency, recovering from his brash comments early on, such as solving homelessness solely through the private sector, and the insinuation that most of Ottawa’s homeless were drug users.
But when O’Brien assumes his throne at the head of City Hall, he could be in for some trial-by-fire lessons in politicking that will challenge his ability to act on his “think big” conservative platform.
That’s because in an almost schizophrenic political tour de force, voters actually voted against change and for the status quo at the same time. Not one of O’Brien’s soulmates who challenged incumbent councillors survived. In the end, even left-leaning “big spenders” were re-elected.
So just how will City Hall operate with traditional lefties such as Diane Holmes, Clive Doucet and Alex Cullen, amongst others, checking and balancing out O’Brien’s neo-con power?
Cynics might believe that the ideological difference at City Hall could tarnish debate and bring policy development to a virtual partisan standstill. While this could very well turn out to be correct, a change at the top could instead reveal a shiny silver lining.
A new chief executive could inject new enthusiasm and direction to a cast of comfortable holdovers. By drawing on an array of ideas across the political spectrum, Ottawa could blaze a new trail and be drawn out of the urban doldrums and its crumbling infrastructure, spurred by outgoing mayor Bob Chiarelli’s lackadaisical and indolent regime. As a result, City Hall would be forced to function more co-operatively and effectively than in recent memory. It would be a veritable tale of two cities.
Regardless, O’Brien will have to be prepared to hit the ground running, avoid rookie mistakes, and become quickly socialized to the Capital’s political scene. With the possible demise of the LRT, a laundry list of promised tax cuts and urban development quagmires, O’Brien will have to utilize every ounce of his entrepreneurial pragmatism to right this sinking ship.
Nonetheless, the return of heated ideological debate and rejuvenated political game-play to council will make for an interesting, entertaining, and hopefully prosperous four years. It could even bring the word ‘sexy’ back to the municipal political discourse. So stay tuned.
–Brent T. Jolly