In the debate on the purchase of new buses, there have been claims made by some candidates that the debt being taken on to finance the purchase will burden our grand kids in the future. “We are going deeper and deeper in debt!” But that is not exactly true. When candidates make this claim, it underscores their lack of understanding of financing issues.
There is a difference between debt for capital purchases and debt to finance operational issues. The debt approved to buy the buses is a …

Mayor Larry O’Brien has proclaimed next week as “Drinking Water Week”. He has done so because the quality of Ottawa tap water is so high, that more people should be drinking it. Therefore to raise awareness of this fact, the Mayor has declared next week as a week to drink more tap water. City Council will also vote on spending $1.1M (0.1% property tax increase) over 5 years and buy two watermobiles that will be at festivals and events around Ottawa promoting Ottawa water.
It is purely coincidental …

Even whilst away, I can’t seem to stop thinking about the number of city employees who make over $100K. Not that I don’t believe they deserve it but it seems out of whack to the pay scale of the politicians who set their priorities. I have often compared City Council to a board of directors; they set the priorities and direction and the staff take care of the operations to make it so. The difference however is unlike a board of directors, City …

Even whilst away, I can’t seem to stop thinking about the number of city employees who make over $100K. Not that I don’t believe they deserve it but it seems out of whack to the pay scale of the politicians who set their priorities.
I have often compared City Council to a board of directors; they set the priorities and direction and the staff take care of the operations to make it so. The difference however is unlike a board of directors, City Council membership is a fulltime job …

Here are the answers to the Pop Quiz (I) I published last week. Maybe it took you 20 minutes instead of 10 but if you were able to answer most of the questions, you could be a good council candidate.
The purpose of the quiz was to demonstrate the expanse of what our city council does. It’s more than just taking care of your sidewalks. I did expect you to know all the answers off hand. But part of the quiz was to find out if you …

In the wake of my March 12, 2010 post, 44 declared candidates but little info about them, it was obvious that the city website that lists the candidates, Nominated Candidates for the 2010 Elections, does not adequately list information about the candidates and how to find out more about them. The city website lists an email address and phone number. Surprisingly, some new candidates don’t even provide this information.
Currently, there are 46 non incumbent candidates of which 27 have websites. In order to give voters one place …

There has been a lot of rumour and discussion about what led to the City taking over the operations of the Hunt Club Riverside Community Centre. To further muddy the waters, while I was away, an article was published in the March 5, 2010 EMC News Ottawa South Edition. It was titled HCRCC now in city hands and it contained a version of events given to the paper by city staff and seemingly backed up by Councillor Maria McRae, the councillor for the ward where the community centre …

This weekend, Fair Chance 2010, the Ottawa group that is trying to help candidates prepare for the 2010 municipal election, held its first training seminar for candidates and would-be-candidates. Some 60 people attended the session. The seminar included presentations and panels by union leaders, former city staff and councillors (former and current). The focus was mainly on what to expect as a candidate and a councillor member should they win.
The collective general description of the group of attendees is that they are interested Ottawa residents who don’t …

So far, there are 8 candidates for Mayor and 36 candidates for the 23 Councillor positions. Of the 44 declared candidates, 13 have websites that you can visit. I’m not sure the reasoning for launching a campaign but not having a website with your basic information available (incumbents excluded – public information about them is readily available.). From first impressions, what’s the benefit in getting your name out there but with no info about yourself or campaign platform. It seems to suggest that you plan on …

I have blogged on numerous occasions about Jim Watson. If you read some of my past posts, you may conclude that in some cases, I’ve been a little over the top. But really, at the essence of what I wrote is that I truly believe that Mr. Watson is not the run of the mill politician.
Over the past months, leading up to Mr. Watson’s decision to run for Mayor, I heard a lot of people talking about what is good about Watson and what is not.
Jim Watson has …