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High-tech millionaire wins hot race in Ottawa
Mayoral upset signals shift to the right, puts light-rail extension in jeopardy
ALEX DOBROTA
OTTAWA -- Larry O'Brien, the high-tech magnate known for starting a multimillion-dollar business with only $35, won one of Ottawa's most hotly contested mayoral races last night.
With 98 per cent of the polls reporting, Mr. O'Brien had garnered 47.1 per cent of the votes, defeating former councillor Alex Munter (36.1 per cent) and incumbent mayor Bob Chiarelli(15.7 per cent).
Mr. O'Brien ran a conservative campaign, based on a platform of showing fiscal responsibility and getting tough on crime.
He promised to freeze taxes during his four years in office. He vowed to crack down on panhandlers in the city's downtown core.
And he pledged to review an $880-million light-rail project that had already received approval from the former city council. Pending that review, he said, he would think about nixing the project altogether.
"The people of Ottawa have respectfully voted for a change," Mr. O'Brien said in a speech to his supporters at the Broadway Bar and Grill last night.
"The city is not a business, but they want to see it run like a business."
Mr. Chiarelli conceded defeat last night and shook Mr. O'Brien's hand before Mr. O'Brien addressed his supporters.
"We need to come together and build consensus," Mr. Chiarelli said.
To do that, Mr. O'Brien must persuade the 23-member city council to accept his vision. The mayor has only one vote on council in Ottawa. And the councillors, many of whom have been re-elected, sided with Mr. Chiarelli on several issues, including the signing of the light-rail deal with a consortium lead by Siemens Canada.
With the deadline for the review of the contract and the vote on the 2007 budget looming, achieving a consensus at city hall might prove tricky, one former mayor of Ottawa said.
"The first couple of months are going to be difficult because you have the added pressure of putting together a budget based on promises that are fresh on everyone's mind," said Jim Watson, who served as mayor from 1997 to 2000 and who is now a Liberal MPP and cabinet minister for Ottawa West-Nepean.
Mr. Watson said this was the most interesting race Ottawa has had in decades.
Turnout was just over 50 per cent, an unusually high figure for Ottawa municipal elections, where turnout usually hovers at about 30 per cent.
The high-octane campaign had candidates squaring off in more than 20 public debates across the city over the past months. But the tide started to shift in Mr. O'Brien's favour in the last days of the campaign.
The latest opinion polls released Saturday showed Mr. O'Brien ahead of Mr. Munter by only a few points, and Mr. Chiarelli trailing badly.
Those predictions kept candidates on their toes until the very end. Hours before the polls closed, they were still knocking on doors and calling voters.
Mr. O'Brien's victory delivered a blow to the political career of Mr. Munter, 38, a left-wing councillor and gay-rights advocate who made his debut in municipal politics as a councillor for Kanata at the age of 23.
The result of the vote is likely to end the political career of Mr. Chiarelli, 65, who cut his teeth as an MPP for the Ontario Liberals during the 1990s.
Mr. Chiarelli presided over the amalgamation of Ottawa with its municipalities. But his reputation as a tax crusader suffered from a series of tax increases during his time at the helm.
Taxes rose 2.9, 3.9 and 3.9 per cent respectively in the past three years.
His campaign took a turn for the worse last month, when his $880-million plan to extend and refurbish Ottawa's train line was surprisingly derailed by an old Queen's Park political foe.
Treasury Board President John Baird inserted federal politics into the municipal realm when he decided to delay signing off on $200-million in federal assistance until after yesterday's vote.
Mr. O'Brien took issue with the high cost of the project. He said he was open to cancelling the deal.
Now he will probably need to draw on his boardroom experience to convince councillors.
Mr. O'Brien, 57, started Calian Technologies Ltd. in 1982 and since then, the company has grown to a venture of $200-million in revenue. Mr. O'Brien was named Ottawa's businessman of the year in 1996.
In 2004, he co-chaired Saint Vincent's Hospital's fundraising campaign and helped raise more than $7.5-million.
Earlier this year, he won the United Way community builder of the year award, and is now Calian's chairman of the board of directors.
© Copyright 2006 Bell Globemedia Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved.
