By Kyla Pearson and Diana Mendes
When newly re-elected Ottawa West-Nepean MPP Jim Watson joined the victory celebrations for fellow Liberal Yasir Naqvi, he found the Ottawa Centre candidate basking in the light of flashing cameras.
“It’s the paparazzi,” exclaimed Watson. “They never leave Yasir alone!”
Naqvi will have to get used to the media attention as he puts on hold his job as a lawyer to become the new MPP for Ottawa Centre.
While the re-election of Dalton McGuinty’s Liberals was no surprise, the race in Ottawa Centre was a nail-biter, lasting late into the night before a winner was known.
But around midnight, Naqvi felt confident enough of his lead to take the stage and address the hoards of supporters, volunteers and media who gathered at the Heart and Crown pub on Preston Street.
“I’m the kind of representative that looks forward to sitting down with everyone and making Ottawa Centre the best place to live,” he said.
Naqvi, 34, replaces out-going Liberal MPP Richard Patten, who announced in March that he would not seek re-election, leaving the riding open for Naqvi or his toughest opponent, NDP candidate Will Murray.
Just blocks away, at the St. Anthony Italia Soccer Club, Murray’s supporters gathered to cheer on their competitor.
Two and a half hours after polls closed, Murray, 39, arrived at the party to an explosion of cheers, sporting a green and orange NDP scarf.
Early results had indicated a tight race, with Murray out in front.
An attack of flash bulbs lit up the NDP hopeful looking to end the Liberal stronghold on Ottawa Centre while supporters clapped and chanted “Will! Will!”
Murray praised the campaigns run by his closest rivals, Naqvi and Conservative Trina Morissette.
“They have been my opponents, but certainly not my enemies,” said Murray. “I wish them all the personal best.”
Murray, also a lawyer, all those who supported his campaign, including his “new friends from the Hill,” particularly Ottawa Centre MP Paul Dewar, who he said gave him “a lot of advice early on, and a lot of help and encouragement.”
Corcoran Conn-Grant, Centretown News
Ottawa Centre MP Paul Dewar embraces losing provincial NDP candidate Will Murray at St. Anthony Italia Soccer Club.
“Will has worked hard and run a great campaign,” said Dewar. “He knocked on almost every door in the community and really talked to people.”
But as the night wore on, excitement gave way as numbers continued to increase for Naqvi.
While riding results appeared to have settled in favour of the Liberals by the early hours of Thursday morning, Murray declined any further comment until he had “hard numbers” to confirm the outcome.
Although Murray did not win, his 31 per cent of the vote was a significant gain over NDP candidate Jeff Atkinson, who received only 23 per cent of support in Ottawa Centre in 2003.
Somerset Coun. Diane Holmes came out to support the NDP, but said regardless of who wins she hopes Centretown issues will be a priority on their agenda.
“One of Centretown’s major interests is getting more affordable housing built and getting money to repair and maintain Ottawa community housing buildings”
In the midst of celebrations at the Liberal camp, Naqvi discussed with reporters the priorities he intended to take to Queen’s Park.
At the top of the list will be transit in Ottawa. He says the city needs an effective public transit plan and needs it fast.
“It’s an environmental issue,” he said. “It’s an issue of the kind of city we want to build and it’s an issue for Ottawa Centre.”
Another hot issue in the riding is crime. Naqvi says he is well aware of the problem and intends to deal with it. He says he will table the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act as a private member’s bill. The act, similar to a law in Manitoba, holds landlords and owners accountable for crimes and incidents that occur on their property. In June, the Community and Protective Services Committee recommended that city council demand the province adopt similar legislation.
The out-going Patten said he’s happy with his replacement, a man he has known for seven years while Naqvi was treasurer of the riding association.
“I think we have the next generation,” said Patten. “We have a young man who’s 34, looks like he’s 24, full of vim and vigour.”
And Patten knows what it takes to represent the community at Queen’s Park. He first won Ottawa Centre for the Liberals in 1987. He represented the riding until this election except for a five-year hiatus from 1990 to 1995, when NDP Evelyn Gigantes held the seat.
The traditional Liberal-NDP battle held true this election, which saw the Conservatives and Green Party finish in predictable third and fourth positions,.
First-time Conservative candidate Morissette attracted 20 per cent of the vote, just below 2003 results, but said she is still pleased with her performance.
“This is not over,” said Morissette. “We finally put the PCs in the spotlight in Ottawa Centre and this is not going to end here.”
While there was no surprise in his finish, the Green Party’s Greg Laxton gained ground by winning over 12 per cent of the vote, a substantial improvement over the party’s showing in the 2003 election.
“We don’t know how many other people would have voted Green had they not been facing the lesser of two evils option,” said Laxton.
He said he has not ruled out running again, but will wait to see how his party feels about the election results.
With files from Greg Dunlop and Helen Jardine