Young Liberals serve!

All this food was raised by Ottawa-area Young Liberals as part of the Trick or Eat campaign for the Ottawa Food Bank. Young Liberals from Carleton, U of O, Ottawa Centre, Ottawa-Vanier and beyond came out to help us, and a particular thanks goes out to Yasir Naqvi, MPP for Ottawa Centre for joining us.

Bob Chiarelli's strong response Randell Denley's attacks on Ottawa's schools

The Ottawa Citizen's Randell Denly has been a pathological critic of the Ontario Liberals for years, but in his piece two days ago he dipped into John Tory style "University of Zero" territory by attacking Ottawa's universities and colleges. Ottawa West-Nepean MPP and cabinet minister Bob Chiarelli had this response to attacks on our schools and students:


Randall Denley uses the MacLean’s magazine 11th place ranking of the University of Ottawa to conclude that this is a fundamental failing of McGuinty’s government to provide the basic needs of Ontario’s hospitals, public schools, and universities.



Well, McGuinty is the Premier of ALL Ontario, not just Sandy Hill where the University of Ottawa resides. Denley clearly chose to ignore that Ontario universities hold four of the top ten places in the MacLean’s ranking.



What idiocy could lead to Denley’s conclusion and what “fair comment” could consciously ignore this information on the very page staring back at Denley?



His self-interested deductive reasoning knows no bounds when it comes to spinning a reason to criticize a McGuinty, any McGuinty, or a Liberal, any Liberal.



Denley does collateral damage to a great Ottawa academic institution by his obsession to damage McGuinty’s reputation at any cost.



The MacLean’s ranking is mainly a statistical analysis of various types of grants, research dollars, ratios, and awards. For a bean counter like Denley that would be a happy mother lode to subjectively interpret.



And he also uses it to be, as usual, more about polemics than principle, more about partisanship than perspective.



During the last several years I was a Senior Fellow at the University of Ottawa’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. I was extremely impressed with the faculty and student excellence and commitment at the graduate and undergraduate level. University of Ottawa graduates excel at the highest levels of virtually every field.



Consider the facts, though. Through McGuinty’s Reaching Higher commitment to post secondary education there are an additional 17,000 spaces in Ottawa’s post-secondary institutions.



At the University of Ottawa, McGuinty government investments include $15 million to expand the Alta Vista campus medical school; $50 million for the new Vanier Building; $23 million to support research at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. The building of the $170 million Royal Ottawa Hospital has benefited the University of Ottawa’s Institute of Mental Health Research. Significant investments at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute have been a major contributor to its becoming one of the foremost heart institutes in the world.



The McGuinty government has invested more in quality health care and education in seven years than the previous two governments invested in thirteen years.



The Citizen should replace the high profile, drive-by smears by Denley with a columnist who can not only criticize but also occasionally champion Ottawa’s great institutions.

Ottawa City Council grades from Ecology Ottawa

Read the report here: http://www.ecologyottawa.ca/councilwatch/index.php

The map I made myself.

Ottawa Citizen blog picks up on Beth Graham CFRA interview

http://communities.canada.com/OTTAWACITIZEN/blogs/greaterottawa/archive/2010/03/01/the-ottawa-west-nepean-candidates-bail-out.aspx?CommentPosted=true#commentmessage

This is a bit of self promotion here, but I'm pleased to see this video, which shows that Beth Graham is just not up to the task of being MPP for Ottawa West-Nepean. The rest of the article gives some good examples of just how much in shambles the Graham's media campaign is. Here's a direct link to the YouTube video, for those interested:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqkfThv9ZqU

Jim Watson running for mayor: report (and bonus by-election speculation!)

http://ottawa.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20100111/OTT_Watson_100111/20100111/?hub=OttawaHome

Former Ottawa mayor and current provincial cabinet minister and MPP for Ottawa West-Nepean Jim Watson will reportedly declare his intentions to resign from cabinet and run for mayor. The Ottawa Citizen today said that Watson would be a front-runner, and I agree. Watson has high name recognition from his days as mayor (when he won 83% of the pre-amalgamated city vote) and currently serving as a MPP and cabinet minister. Watson won over 50% of the vote in his Ottawa West-Nepean riding in 2007, and increase from his 2003 election. With a strong record of socially progressive but fiscal responsible policies, Watson will have strong appeal both in the city core that gave him 83% of the vote pre-amalgamation, and in the more suburban and rural area. Watson has my thumbs up for mayor and I look forward to working on his campaign.

With Watson gone from provincial politics, lets open the door to one of this blogs favourite subjects: nomination speculation! With this by-election probably being a two-way race between the Liberals and PC's, I'll focus on them. Note that this list is by no means exhaustive.

Liberals

Bob Chiarelli: A former mayor himself and a previous member for the Ottawa West area, Chiarelli will probably be in the conversation. Since his defeat as mayor, he has remained active in local Liberal circles, campaigning for Liberal candidates in the 2007 provincial election, showing interest in the federal Ottawa West-Nepean nomination, and getting involved in local nomination campaigns on the federal level for the next election. In his two runs for mayor, Chiarelli carried the Ottawa West-Nepean area in 03, but not in 06.

Rick Chiarelli: Staying in the family, Bob's cousin Rick, a current city councillor, is another possibility. Rick ran unsuccessful for the Liberals in 1999, after former MPP and current mayoral candidate Alex Cullen crossed the floor to the NDP. Chiarelli is popular in his local Nepean area ward, winning almost 60% on his inital run in 2000, getting acclaimed in 2003, and winning 72% in 2006. Bob has higher name recognition, but Rick might have less baggage.

Cyrus Reporter: Longtime Liberal activist and insider, as well as would be Dominic LeBlanc leadership bid head, Reporter was the subject of "Draft Cyrus" rumours last Ottawa Centre federal nomination that ultimately came to nothing. Reporter still has plenty of connections and hasn't hid intentions to run for something someday, could this be his chance?

Janet Yale: Defeated Ottawa Centre federal nomination contestant, Yale originally considered running in Ottawa West-Nepean and challenging David Pratt, but settled on Ottawa Centre, losing to Scott Bradley. Yale ran a solid campaign for the nomination and I've seen her at a more than a couple Liberal events since her loss, and her technocratic background could be a good fit for the suburban riding, particularly if she can appeal to female voters.

Lee Farnworth: Another potential female candidate, Farnworth ran for the federal Liberals in 2006 but was defeated by John Baird. Farnworth served as a Nepean city councillor from 1994-2000, and has been active in the NGO sector. In addition to this, she has taught at the in-riding Algonquin College for nearly 2 decades.

Nour El Kadri: Sticking with the professor theme, Kadri is a eBusiness and Computer Science prof at the University of Ottawa. Kadri had organized a run for the federal Liberal nomination in Ottawa West-Nepean last time around before the appointment of David Pratt. Kadri apparently sold several hundred memberships, and if he still has his contact network, could potentially be a formidable candidate.


Progressive Conservatives

Unlike St. Paul's and Toronto Centre, the PC's stand a fighting chance in this riding, so candidate selection will be crucial.

Mike Patton: 2007 PC candidate, Patton ran into a spot of trouble over his resume during the campaign, when he was accused by Watson and former Nepean mayor Mary Pitt of embellishing his resume during his run, which may have contributed to the PC's losing votes in the riding. Prior to his run, he served as a spokesperson for Larry O'Brien as well as working for then federal PC leader Jean Charest and a parachute campaign running for the PC's in Labrador in 1997. Probably still has local connections, but the rumours of his resume fudging could be baggage, and after running socially liberal candidates in St. Paul's and Toronto Centre, will the PC base be happy with another Red Tory candidate?

Sean Casey: 2004 federal Conservative candidate. Casey nearly defeated incumbant Liberal Marlene Catterall when he ran. He is currently a partner at True North Public Affairs, a public policy firm, (which on a purely personal note, also employs former BPAPM student Mark Ruban as a consultant, go Kroeger Kids) and was a Tory insider and staffer prior to his run. The Ottawa Citizen endorsed him in his 2004 run and he was generally expected to win before the Tories suffered a late campaign drop in numbers. He was generally seen as being more of a Blue Tory, and might fit the Hudak mold, although a relatively low profile post-2004 might hurt.

Walter Robinson: Potentially the biggest "star" the Tories could nab, assuming he doesn't run for mayor himself, as some have speculated. Robinson ran as a star candidate for the federal Tories in 2004, unexpectedly losing to Marc Godbout in Ottawa-Orleans. A former director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, Robinson also has big links to the O'Brien administration, serving as Chief of Staff to the mayor until stepping down in mid-2007, and is currently serving as a lobbyist.

Terry Kilrea: Before anyone says anything, yes, it is difficult to form a list of high-profile Tories who don't have connections to O'Brien in the Ottawa area. Former federal Tory nomination candidate, 2003 candidate for mayor, and 2006 city council candidate, Kilrea has obvious baggage but has name recognition.

With so many potential high-profile Ottawa Tories having baggage one way or the other towards O'Brien, I think the appointment of a candidate not listed above is certainly possible, or the PC's might hope that O'Brien's popularity is still decent enough in the suburban parts of the city that an association with him isn't a draw-back. McGuinty has a habit of calling by-elections quickly, so whenever Watson resigns from Queen's Park (I've only seen reports of him saying he will step down from cabinet, none explicitly saying that he will resign completely, but odds would be that pressure would be on him to step down sooner rather than later I think) the two major parties should be fast to get the campaign machines rolling.

Ottawa area news/rumours (and one Quebec nomination)

Just got back from a great time phone canvassing for Scott Bradley (more on that in a bit), but I have heard two pieces of news in the Ottawa area:

Isabel Metcalfe, who had been considering a bid for the Ottawa Centre nomination, has dropped out. With Metcalfe out, it looks increasingly likely that the race will come down to Bradley vs. Yale, although rumours a third candidate have not entirely gone out.

In perhaps juicer news, apparently one of the pieces of gossip going around the big Tory training conference going on in Ottawa the last couple days is the John Baird is considering not running in the next election. Baird has basically served as Harper's Ontario lieutenant since getting elected in 2006 and as constantly been considered one of the most powerful ministers in cabinet, so him leaving would be a blow. Also interesting, is that even if this rumour turns out to be totally false, I have had more than a couple people tell me that staffers for Jason Kenney are behind said rumours.

Also, Joliette held it's Liberal nomination meeting today, and 2008 candidate Suzie St-Onge will carry the Liberal banner once again, according to this article: http://www.laction.com/article-361914-Suzie-StOnge-sera-candidate-liberale-dans-Joliette.html

The riding is held by BQ House Leader Pierre Paquette, who many have seen as a potential successor to Gilles Duceppe (and who made a declaration that he was considering running for BQ leadership during the 24 hour period in which it seemed Duceppe would depart for the PQ leadership race). Despite being one of the few Quebec seats to regularly send a Tory back to Quebec between 1968-1984 in the form of Roch La Salle, the BQ has held the seat with large margins since 1993, the "closest" election between 2000, when Paquette was taking over from a BQ incumbant, but still won the riding by a 52%-34% margin, and it wouldn't be a stretch to say the seat is one of the safest in the province for the BQ.

Welcome back Rocco!

Just got back from the rally welcoming back Rocco from his 5-day journey from Kingston to Ottawa. We had at least 150 people show up (including Ignatieff), as well as plenty of people watching from above the canal. We had t-shirts proudly declaring our efforts to make Ignatieff our 23rd Prime Minister. I definitely think that the donations given from Rocco's efforts will make a nice little boost to our next quarterly fundraising reports. It was also great to see various candidates for local nominations show up. The Ottawa Liberal team is buzzing.

Nomination news

Some nomination news from across the spectrum. This article: http://www.intelligencer.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1670228 says that all Liberal incumbants have reached the requirements to avoid nomination challenges:

"To date, all of the sitting members have met their minimum requirements and then some. Unless they decide otherwise, we're expecting all of them to run," Rocco Rossi, national director of the Liberal Party of Canada, said here yesterday.

Rossi also says that he expects incumbant Liberal MP and Speaker of the House Peter Milliken to run again. (Although if/when Milliken eventually leaves, I have heard more than a few people toss out Mark Gerretsen, a Kingston city councillor and son of Liberal MPP John Gerresten as a possible candidate)

Out west, it looks like 2008 Edmonton-Sherwood candidate Rick Szostak will be taking another crack at it for the Liberals.
http://www.sherwoodparknews.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1670093
Sherwood Park is an interesting riding because due to conservative vote splitting (independent conservative James Ford nearly won the riding in 08, and is strongly considering running again) it is a potential if still long-shot pick up for the Liberals or NDP.

On the Tory side, businessperson and social club founder Rachel Greenfeld will be running for the Tory nomination in Vancouver Centre.
http://www2.canada.com/vancouvercourier/news/story.html?id=2a6c96a5-747e-4ef9-ad45-45c575daeb69
Vancouver Centre was a 4 way fight last election, with the Liberals, NDP, Conservatives, and Greens all running credible campaigns and winning polls.

I was also at the Ottawa-Gatineau area Liberal candidate pub night last night, which was great. Despite currently only holding the ridings of Hull-Alymer, Ottawa South, and Ottawa-Vanier, the Ott/Gat area is ripe for Liberal growth, with the ridings of Ottawa Centre, Pontiac, Gatineau, Ottawa-Orleans, Ottawa West-Nepean, and Glengarry-Prescott-Russell all being ridings which the Liberals have a decent shot at winning, and must win if we wish to form the next government. The party has strong candidates for the nomination in all of the ridings, and I will be proud to support and help the eventual winners whenever the next election comes.

Interesting Ottawa developments

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Yale+takes+Pratt+riding+option+list/1794680/story.html

Janet Yale, who had been widely considered to be taking a run for Ottawa Centre, and who surprised more than a few people by declaring earlier this week she would try and run for Ottawa West-Nepean, has flip-flopped, and pulled out of the OW-N race while maintaining an interest in Ottawa Centre. Yale says she will be making a decision soon.

Also interesting is that the article says that Scott Bradley, the defeated nomination candidate from last time (who in the interest of full disclosure, I supported) is running again. Other potential candidates include Isabel Metcalf, Cyrus Reporter (although last I had heard, he was leaning against it, although the grapevine can often be wrong) and rumours of a star candidate turn by Phil Fontaine.

Ottawa-Orleans Liberal nomination

Two candidates have declared for the Liberal nomination in the riding of Ottawa-Orleans, local business woman Judith Cane, and local city councillor Rainer Bloess. Ottawa-Orleans is a traditionally Liberal riding, but ever since 2006, has been represented by Royal Galipeau, an ex-Liberal taken from the riding of Ottawa-Vanier, and who still does not live in the riding.

I canvassed extensively in Ottawa-Orleans last election, (even spending e-day trying to pull votes) but unfortunately, the riding could not be won. However, with two candidates running, both of whom I believe are well qualified, the Liberal Party can take this riding back.

However, I must confess I have a preference in this nomination battle. While Con. Bloess is to be applauded for this firm standing as a member of the fiscally responsible wing of Ottawa city council, and whose local ties and experience would make him a great candidate should he win, I believe that Judith Cane is ultimately a better candidate. A local businesswoman, Cane would give the Liberal Party a much needed boost on the economy issue, which is shaping up to be the critical issue of the next election. Furthermore, I believe Cane fills a gap in the Liberal Party, of showcasing women who can be high-profile spokespersons on the economy. While I might not be able to vote for her (I live in Ottawa Centre), I encourage all Liberals within the riding of Ottawa-Orleans to support her, and help Michael Ignatieff and the Liberal Party of Canada take back the riding of Ottawa-Orleans.

NDP, Conservative, and Liberal views towards Ottawa

http://ottsun.canoe.ca/News/Columnists/Sherring_Susan/2008/01/19/4781792.html

This article gives a good idea of why the Liberals are the best party for Ottawa, both provincially and federally. My current MP, NDP'er Paul Dewar, sticks his head into city business, disrespecting jurisdictional boundaries in crude attempts to win political support and build his profile in a swing riding as he faces a very strong challenge in Penny Collenette.

Dewar...has got into the habit of firing off news releases in matters where his role as a federal representative has no place.

Of course, being a Dipper, Dewar probably believes the federal government should be involved everywhere.

If Dewar cared so much...where was he during the city's budget deliberations late last year when he could have actually made a difference in lobbying council?

Because this would require actual effort and taking a stand for progressive policy for the people of Ottawa, such as how the NDP propped up the Conservatives on the environment issue with the Clean Air Act, as opposed to Penny Collenette's work on the environment (http://www.pennycollenette.ca/_pdf/OttawaCitizen_Waterqualityistickingtimebomb.pdf)

"It looks like he's just jumping on a bandwagon," Coun. Rainer Bloess said, adding there's a difference between speaking out as a citizen and "political grandstanding for the sake of publicity."

A Dipper putting grandstanding and rhetoric ahead of actual hands on policy responsibility? Shocking I tell you.

Dewar's interference can be seen as a a companion to Pierre Poilievre, who as a Conservative MP has a negative reflex reaction to any political body making decisions which aren't triple checked by Ian Brodie.

Coun. Steve Desroches:
"We really don't need these 11th-hour antics,"
(Conservative MPP) MacLeod and Poilievre "should stay out of city business."

Coun. Peter Hume:
"Why is the city being criticized for adhering to provincial and federal regulations?"

Coun. Jan Harder:
"Writes off Poilievre's silliness as immaturity."

On the other hand, former Ottawa mayor and current provincial Liberal minister Jim Watson helps Ottawa keep moving forward by acting "Only when it affects the relationship between city and province. His professionalism should be studied and copied."

Ottawa-Area Liberals & Hill Staffers for Martha

http://carletoncanada.facebook.com/event.php?eid=6051024998

Just giving this some added publicity, any Ottawa area Liberals looking to help out Martha in Willowdale this weekend, just follow the link for directions, we are trying to get as many people out as we can.

McGuinty and O'Brien

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/city/story.html?id=696d9a36-0f50-4f68-8e88-b6bfc035f0eb

As I'm heading back up to Ottawa today from Mississauga, I thought it would be appropriate to make an Ottawa-centric post.

While I do believe that the provincial government would work well with any municipal government, particularly with the importance that the provincial government has placed on helping Ontario's cities, I can't but think that McGuinty would prefer either for O'Brien to step down, or suffer further political embarrassment, as O'Brien has had some notable policy clashes.

Of course, given my previous thoughts on the rumour mill output of Jim Watson running for mayor, McGuinty's comments, while diplomatic, can be interpreted as firing a warning shot across O'Brien's bow that he could be in for some serious competition if he decides to wait it out.

Larry O'Brien wants to stay

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2007/12/11/ot-obrien-stays-071211.html

While it is perhaps somewhat cosmically funny that these allegations of bribery to get Kilrea to drop out at the same time both the NDP and Paul Martin apologized to David Oliver, I do wonder how dedicated O'Brien really is to staying on.

This is a situation which could rapidly worsen, even having federal implications for the Conservatives, as the Liberals are alleging that John Baird, (who is currently off sinking the Bali conference: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071212.wbaliyork1212/BNStory/International/home)
may have been involved. Obviously O'Brien has to say he will stay on at this point, lest he appear weak and scared, but I would not be surprised at all if he were to step down if this affair becomes worse, particularly given O'Brien's relative unpopularity.

Simply on a rumour mill note, I have heard from various places around Ottawa that Jim Watson, the former mayor of Ottawa, current MPP for Ottawa West-Nepean, and Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, may have more than a fleeting interest in having his old job back. Watson's name is sometimes thrown around with those of Smitherman, Bryant, Duncan, and Bentley as potential leadership candidates, but given O'Brien's tailspin, I wouldn't be surprised if Watson threw his hat into the mayoral ring.

Events of the last week

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20071115/mulroney_thibault_071115/20071115?hub=QPeriod

The Mulroney vs. Thibault saga continues, with each side upping rhetoric as the war is now more of one than just words. While this development is certainly worth following and watching, the Liberals must be careful to keep the issue about Brian Mulroney and Karlheinz Schreiber, and not let this aspect become more dominant, as it is significantly less spin-worthy.

http://www.thestar.com/News/article/276677

Dan McTeague's comments that "The hunter is now the hunted" is interesting. Given that the Conservatives at this point are going to be trying to avoid an election, but are still going to be pushing ahead with a policy agenda to try and re-gain momentum, this could be an opportunity for the Liberals to flex some muscle without triggering an election. The Liberals should say about any proposed legislation that it won't pass without changes x,y,z, but if those changes are made, the Liberals would support it. This would allow them to use the "making minority parliament work" rhetoric, and actually mean it, and if the Conservatives reject any changes, the Liberals can counter that the Conservatives are being obstructionist and more concerned with triggering an election that Canadians don't want than governing the country.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2007/11/15/ot-budget-071115.html

And yet another standoff in Ottawa as Larry O' Brien and his Harris and John Tory-esque rhetoric about preventing service cuts with "efficiencies" and not raising taxes versus the city manager Kent Kirkpatrick's predictions that holding the zero line on taxes would result in service cuts. O'Brien proposal of a two-per-cent infrastructure tax levy is interesting to compare to the steps taken by Hazel in Mississauga.

Ottawa Centre Debate Tonight!

All Liberals (and all informed citizens, frankly) should make an effort to show up to the Ottawa Centre debate this evening. It's at 211 Bronson, starting at 7:30. Judging by both the polls, number of signs up, and election predictions, we will hold this riding and keep moving forward, but it's still important to make sure Yasir Naqvi has a strong show of support this evening. Hope to see you all there!