Bay Ward Coun. Alex Cullen officially became the first candidate to enter the mayoral race in 2010 yesterday, announcing a platform of transit, transparency, and “reasonable” tax increases.
Cullen has made no secret of his intentions to run for mayor. He spoke about his plans last summer.
Under his administration, Cullen promised, residents could expect tax increases that are “as close to inflation as you can get.”
“What citizens want is value for their tax dollars,” he said. “What I’m talking about are reasonable costs.”
Transparency would be a key issue in his administration, insisted Cullen. He wants to create a municipal lobbyist registry so the public is aware who is speaking with councillors about the city’s $2 billion budget.
He said he would also move forward with the city’s current $2.1-billion light rail rapid transit plan. He also said that there would not be another transit strike under his administration.
Even though city council is expected to vote on it in June, Cullen predicts the Lansdowne Partnership Plan will be an election issue. He is not in favour of the plan, since he said it is not a good location for a stadium, among other reasons.
While refusing to absolutely rule out returning to Bay Ward if it the polls were not going well, Cullen said his full intention is to have his name on the ballot for mayor on Oct. 25.
“It’s time to move up and I think I have the qualities to do the job,” he said.
Cullen described Mayor Larry O’Brien as “a weak mayor” who “did not have the all tools to do the job.”
O’Brien’s notion that the city could maintain services without raising taxes was not fair to the general public, he said.
An announcement from O’Brien as to whether or not he will run again is not expected this week.
Ottawa West-Nepean MPP and former mayor of Ottawa Jim Watson is rumoured to be interested in the mayor’s seat, but has not made any decisions about his political future.
