By Stela Susic
City borders. Amalgamation. Transportation standards. This is the stuff every day is made of for city councillors, says Somerset Ward Coun. Elisabeth Arnold.
And that’s what she hopes the next three years will bring for her if she is successful in seeking re-election to a fourth term on city council for Somerset Ward.“The challenge of this term of council has been the amalgamation,” says Arnold, adding that changes to the city borders will be a priority for the next term.
Her announcement comes just days after Kanata Coun. Alex Munter said he would not run again in the Nov. 10 election.
Arnold is adopting an if-it-ain’t-broke-don’t-fix-it position, saying she intends to use a campaign similar to her previous election victories.
“I think my eight years of experience as a councillor speak for themselves,” she says, adding that the issues she’ll be promoting are transportation and preservation of the downtown architecture.
Arnold has not filed her nomination papers, but says she will begin her campaign soon. She has until Sept. 26 to make her decision official, says Kara Cockbain, a city elections official.
So far, the only official Somerset Ward nominee appears to be Bill Driver. Cockbain says he is a relative newcomer to city politics and doesn’t know anything about him.
“Basically, all we have on him is his address, pager number, name and which ward he is running in,” she says.
Arnold was first elected in 1994. She followed the victory with another win in 1998, receiving 76 per cent of the vote, beating her opponent by 4,433 votes. She ran unsuccessfully for the NDP in Ottawa Centre in the 1998 provincial election.
“She is principled and hardworking,” says Rick Chiarelli, chair of the public library board and a fellow city councillor. “We often do not agree, but she has a tough ward to represent with many diverse groups.”
He says they have had disagreements on the role the private sector can play in funding municipal projects and easing the burden on taxpayers.
Other issues she has taken up in the past are the development of a heritage-friendly building at 320 McLeod and the Rideau Canal pedestrian bridge.