By Kate Heartfield
While Claudette Cain and Bob Chiarelli fight over the job of Ottawa mayor, the six other candidates tend to get lost in the background.
A seventh candidate, John Swettenham withdrew from the race Tuesday, feeling he had no chance of winning.
Swettenham, who has had a long career in business management, annouced he will support Cain because he likes her tax policies.
He ran unsuccessfully as a Progressive Conservative in the 1990 provincial election.
The remaining candidates have a realistic view of their chances in the Nov. 13 municipal election. Nonetheless, they have passion for their communities and reasons for running. This election is drawing even more candidates than usual, as it is the first election for the new City of Ottawa.
James Hall, 53, says he’s “fed up” with Ottawa’s political apathy and the “usurping of the democratic process” by the media and leading candidates. If elected, he promises to cut his mayoral salary by 25 per cent, to rebuild the downtown core, to stand up to the National Capital Commission, and to serve for only one term as mayor.
“I will consider my campaign a success if 60 per cent or more come out and vote,” says Hall. “But, of course, I also do want to be mayor.” A mathematician living in Hintonburg, Hall says he’ll leave Ottawa for his home town of Montreal if not elected.
John Geary is in his early 40s. Geary is a garlic farmer in Sarsfield, Ontario, just south of Rockland and east of Navan. He ran unsuccessfully for regional council’s Cumberland ward in 1997. He opposes Chiarelli’s plan to expand the Greenbelt, and wants more green space throughout the city instead.
Ken Mills, 24, studies political science and anthropology at Carleton University. He says the experience of running for mayor has taught him more about Canadian politics than university ever could. Mills has participated in anti-homelessness and other protests, but decided to work within the system by running for mayor. He wants to bring a left-wing perspective to the campaign.
Morteza Naini is a 50-year-old civil engineer who has lived in Ottawa for 14 years. He says Ottawa is being destroyed by bad urban planning, which has already led to traffic confusion downtown. Naini has worked as a human rights activist, and feels the mayor of Ottawa should take a personal interest in the life and well-being of each citizen.
Paula Nemchin, 54, has lived in Gloucester for 31 years. She runs her own house-cleaning business and says she decided to run because she “decided to clean the city”. She has no political experience. Nemchin opposes official bilingualism for the new city, saying it is divisive and unnecessary.
“It’s a subject that both Cain and Chiarelli do not want to touch,” she says.
Georges Saadé is an engineer who has lived in Ottawa for over 30 years. He is no newcomer to the political scene, having run against Claudette Cain for mayor of Gloucester in the last election. If elected, Saadé promises to freeze or reduce taxes and to improve ambulance service.