With a crowded field of candidates stepping up to challenge incumbent Diane Holmes, the election for Somerset Ward was always going to be interesting this year. But now, with Holmes having announced her retirement and thrown her support behind a new candidate, the race has become wide open and unpredictable.
Centretown residents will undoubtedly miss having such an experienced representative on city council when she steps down next October. Holmes has been involved in Ottawa municipal politics for more than three decades, including nearly a decade serving as the Somerset representative on the regional council before amalgamation.
The continuity she provided the ward was a virtue in itself, regardless of what one’s political differences with her may be. Few other city politicians could draw on such a wealth of knowledge about the history of any given issue affecting her constituents.
But there’s also a sense in which Holmes’ retirement is good for voters, as candidates will now be judged purely on their merits. When an incumbent has been around for as long as Holmes has, sometimes voters simply fall back on casting a ballot for familiarity. With that option gone, it gives sharper focus to the task of deciding which candidate is best for guiding the future of the neighbourhood.
Holmes has already decided for herself who that candidate should be, making no secret of being underwhelmed at the field of candidates until now.
Holmes is known for her strongly left-wing views and had apparently decided the other candidates were wanting in that regard. But once her former assistant, Catherine McKenney, made her interest in running known, that was enough for Holmes to move forward with her long-rumoured plan to retire from politics.
Holmes has told reporters her decision to retire was entirely contingent on finding out whether McKenney was ready to seriously commit to running.
McKenney will be a formidable challenge for the other candidates. Not only will she benefit from Holmes’ substantial organization, but she has plenty of her own experience in politics, with stints on Parliament Hill working for NDP MPs Paul Dewar and Ed Broadbent. It’s certainly not a slam dunk when a long-time incumbent endorses a successor, but considering McKenney is starting from a position of low-name recognition, this is a big boost for her.
We can also expect the other candidates to work to fill the vacuum left by Holmes’ retirement. Some will probably position themselves further to the left to try to pick up her voters. Others will use this as an opportunity to make the case for a new direction for Centretown. Holmes liked to say that she won elections because her values matched Centretown's; now that assertion will really be put to the test.
While Holmes was in office, she always made her priorities clear: green space, affordable housing, and skepticism over large condo towers. It will be very interesting to see how candidates set out their own priorities during the debates, now that their primary challenge of differentiating themselves from Holmes is gone.