A good day’s work by Ottawa voters, except one thing | Opinion

Monday’s municipal vote was a resounding vote of confidence in Mayor Mark Sutcliffe and city council. For those who like to argue that our city is going to hell in a hurry, that had to be a bit of a surprise.

Sutcliffe won handily over his main opponent, veteran councillor Jeff Leiper, and most council incumbents won by huge margins. Two didn’t even face opposition. The threenewcouncillors, all women, are promising rookies with strong support in their wards.

In all it was a good day’s work by voters. The only thing that takes the shine off a bit was the low turnout. At just 36.2 per cent, it was the lowest number since 2003. Most past elections have had a turnout of over 40 per cent.

It’s hard to say what combination of satisfaction and indifference led to the low number, but the winners are happy to take it. Returning city councillors certainly benefited from Sutcliffe’s ability to get them working together in a professional manner with a minimum of petty infighting and grandstanding.

Sutcliffe himself ran a careful and detailed campaign that built on his record of modest tax increases, increased road spending, more transit service, and attention to issues like homelessness and affordable housing.

Over the last four years, Sutcliffe has proven himself a cautious and competent manager of public money and a politician who is most comfortable in the middle of the road, Ottawa voters’ preferred lane. Sutcliffe is not too far left, not too far right, a little thrifty on spending but still concerned about social issues.

The mayor’s other key asset is a low-key likeability. Sutcliffe is an amiable and thoughtful fellow who hasn’t let the power of the mayor’s job go to his head.

All that made Sutcliffe difficult to run against. His three main opponents couldn’t find an issue that would give them an edge. Polls showed that transit was the most important issue for voters, but it was difficult to credibly claim that any of the challengers could do a better job on that difficult file.

Leiper tried to make an issue of the federal return to work policy, but a mayor has no meaningful leverage there. Economist Neil Saravanamuttoo took a tough on spending approach, a bit of a surprise given his support for left-wing candidate Catherine McKenney in the last election. Businessman Alex Lawson ran a spirited campaign but couldn’t overcome his lack of experience and name recognition.

Sutcliffe helped himself by running a mistake-free campaign, giving his opponents nothing to galvanize public support. The four-way vote split helped him to win with 44.6 per cent of the vote, ten points better than Leiper.

Despite the general enthusiasm for incumbents, any council can benefit from some new perspectives, and the three new councillors seem likely to offer that.

Kitchissippi Ward chose Joanne Chianello with an overwhelming 65 per cent of the vote. She started early and worked hard to earn that. Chianello has covered City Hall for the Ottawa Citizen and the CBC, so she knows the issues and she’s articulate. A good gain for council.

Erin Coffin defeated four-term veteran Allan Hubley with nearly 50 per cent of the vote. That’s not easy to do. Coffin has a federal public service and community association president background, the same qualifications Hubley brought to the job. The defeated councillor is a good guy, but he stayed one election too long.

New Stittsville councillor Chelsea Walton took nearly 44 per cent of the vote in a nine-person race. That’s impressive. Walton is a former staffer for retiring city councillor Glen Gower, and she is on leave from the city’s traffic department.

For the newly elected council, high voter support comes with high expectations. Sutcliffe is fond of saying that Ottawa is “a great place to live.” He’s right, but now he and his council have the challenge of making it even better over the next four years.

Randall Denley is an Ottawa journalist and author. Contact him at randalldenley1@gmail.com