With the field of candidates for Ottawa City Council finalized, here are six races to watch

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With only 13 of 23 Ottawa City Councilors in office to retain their seats on October 24, this is already guaranteed to be a swing election.

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But, even in incumbent districts, there is plenty of intrigue after four long and often acrimonious years at the council table, with strong candidates stepping in to compete for seats. There are also dynamics at the ward level that make some races particularly attractive, like a former councilman challenging his successor in Osgoode and the brother of the outgoing Knoxdale-Merivale representative offering to take over for him on the council. .

With the field of candidates now set, here are six districts to watch.

Kanata North: Appointee is running to become the elected ward councilor

It took just 12 votes for Cathy Curry to become Kanata North’s representative on the city council, and the council decided, after some discussion, to go the appointment route rather than a by-election to fill the seat as councilwoman. previous, Jenna Sudds, vacated to run at the federal level. last fall.

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In fact, Curry’s name will be on the ballot on October 24, along with the challengers. Christine Moulaison, co-chair for more than five years of the Ottawa-Carleton School Board Assembly, an organization representing OCDSB school boards and parents, and Viorel Copil.

South Kanata: Traffic commission chairman makes bid for fourth term

In one of the races in which the incumbents face several strong rivals, the residents of Kanata South will be asked to decide whether to back Allan Hubley’s bid for a fourth term. He has been in the spotlight for much of his last four years on the city council as chairman of the transit commission, overseeing operations of the new LRT system, as well as bus and Para Transpo service.

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Three competitors threw their hats into the race in May, the first month candidates could register: Bina Shah, a science and math teacher who won two votes in her bid last year to fill the vacant seat on the Kanata North council; Rouba Fattal, Senior Economist and Policy Advisor in the Federal Public Service and founder of the Kanata-Carleton Small Business Network; and Erin Coffin, a longtime federal government employee and caterer owner.

Candidate Mike Dawson joined the race earlier this month.

Knoxdale-Merivale: One Egli leaves politics, another races to replace him

Moving east and within the green belt, Knoxdale-Merivale is one of 10 constituencies in the city without an incumbent candidate. What is unique about this race, however, is that his name will remain, in part, on the ballot.

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Keith Egli is not running again after three terms in office, but brother Myles Egli is challenging for the job.

Now retired after a career as a production manager at a printing and embroidery company, the pManordale-Woodvale Community Association resident faces competition from Sean Devine, a playwright, federal arts funding officer, and two-time federal NDP candidate in Nepean, who brings his years of service with his own community association ( Trend-Arlington) into battle.

Devine was the first to register for the race and has since been followed by six others, including real estate agent James Dean, events company founder Michael Wood and political organizer and consultant Joseph Ben-Ami.

Gloucester-Southgate: Councilor Deans is not on the ballot

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For the first time in more than 20 years, Gloucester-Southgate voters will not have the option of choosing Diane Deans as a council representative.

However, they will be able to decide if they want to vote for their executive assistant for more than a decade.

Jessica Bradley is one of six candidates hoping to fill the position Deans has held since the merger. Paralegal Aria Alavi, who describes himself as a strong supporter of a two-term limit for city councilmembers, and transit and accessibility advocate John Redins filed their nomination papers in May.

They were joined this month by Hussein Mahmoud, Taylor Houstoun, ron keays and Bradley.

Rideau-Vanier: ten-horse race to replace Fleury

While most districts drew a handful of candidates before Friday’s nomination deadline, Rideau-Vanier is seeking a strong 10-person race, more than any other district.

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Current Rep. Mathieu Fleury is another long-serving councilman who has opted not to run again, and depending on how successful the various candidates vying to replace him are in winning over Rideau-Vanier voters, it may take a relatively small amount of votes to ensure victory in a crowded field.

Neither candidate was on the district’s ballot in 2018, and there is a diverse list for voters. There is researcher and self-proclaimed progressive candidate Laura Shantz, a conservative-oriented small business owner. Tyler Cybulsky, Fire of God Ministries Pastor Alex Osorio, Franco-Ontarian artist Julie Fiala and businesswoman Burthomley Douzable, and those are just the ones with websites on the city’s page of nominated candidates.

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Osgoode: Former Mayor and Councilman Wants Back

it wasn’t that long ago Doug Thompson handed over his position to newly elected Osgoode Councilman George Darouze.

Yet eight years after he opted out of local politics, the former councilman and last mayor of the old Osgoode Township wants to represent the district again.

He will be challenging Darouze, who Thompson endorsed in 2014 and has two terms under his belt and the current title of deputy mayor. But Darouze has also had some high-profile stumbles in recent years. – apologized in 2020 for texting while driving and participating in a council committee meeting and the city integrity commissioner discovered in 2019 that he had intimidated a pair of constituents, who recently dropped a lawsuit against him.

A trio of Osgoode residents complete the race to represent the rural district: Dan O’Brien, whose work experience includes farming and building a school bus business; teacher Bob Masaro, running again for the Osgoode neighborhood council seat after seeking it in 2010; and Bruce Faulkner, a trucker and logistics operator who filed documents for him Friday before the 2 pm registration deadline.

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