Mayor Larry O’Brien is looking forward to hearing candidate Jim Watson’s comments and thoughts during the coming mayoral campaign.
“He’s an accomplished career politician,” said O’Brien yesterday, reacting to Watson announcing his candidacy. “Candidate Watson has a tremendous sense of style and I’ve always preferred substance over style. I want to see his ideas as the campaign unfolds.”
Watson’s announcement will have no impact on O’Brien’s intention to hold off declaring his intentions regarding the next campaign until June.
“We have a lot of work to do over the next six months and quite frankly, these campaigns are ridiculously long,” he said.
O’Brien said he wants to focus on completing important files like transit, Lansdowne Park, and Plasco.
In a release sent out yesterday, Watson, an MPP and minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, stated that people are frustrated with the direction and performance of city hall, but O’Brien insists this term of council has accomplished more than the previous three or four terms of council, including the 32 months of Watson’s truncated term as mayor of the pre-amalgamated Ottawa.
O’Brien pointed to progress on the city’s rapid transit network, Lansdowne Park, and reduced spills to the Ottawa River. Those are issues that have been around for decades before this council acted to solve them, said O’Brien.
