Mayoral candidates make final pitch on voting day
Posted Oct 25, 2010 03:17:07 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA – The municipal election, Monday, has wrapped up.
The polls were open until 8 p.m.
Just hours before they started letting voters in, two of the leading candidates in the Ottawa mayoral race each made one last attempt to win votes.
The top three candidates in the mayoral race all repeated a similar theme: it’s not over until the polls close.
Clive Doucet, who’s seen his momentum grow recently, believes he is now the second place candidate, and told 1310News it’s a battle between two different visions for Ottawa.
“One of them is more of the same, just with a different hairline,” he said, adding he wants the best for the city no matter the outcome. “I wish Ottawa the best of luck and I’m hopeful that we’ll all see a better future begin tomorrow,” Doucet said.
While front-runner Jim Watson said he has more than a new hairline — he has a plan that is the best for Ottawa’s future.
“The message is really straightforward,” Watson said. “We can’t have another four years of the last four years with the kind of dysfunctionality that we’ve seen at city hall.”
Incumbent Larry O’Brien admitted he’s made mistakes, but said he thinks voters will give him a second chance.
“I messed up a little bit on the money but I won’t next time, and I’m looking forward to their support,” O’Brien said.
Although O’Brien has scaled back on media events and even admitted he likely won’t win, he scoffs at speculation he’s thrown in the towel.
“I’ve never thrown in, even a little bit,” he said. “This is too important.”
Polls have shown Watson opening a growing lead over O’Brien and Doucet, but Watson said he’s not making any assumptions about the outcome of Monday’s vote.
“The electorate are going to decide who the next mayor of Ottawa is, and I don’t want to take their support and their goodwill for granted,” Watson said.
“Looking forward and hoping that I can finish the Lansdowne Park, the light rail program […] but everything else that we’ve done for the past four years, it’s been probably the best experience of my life.”
Doucet and O’Brien are voting in their home ridings, while Watson already voted in the advance polls.
All three said this election is about choosing who has the best ideas, and they urge people to be informed before casting a ballot.
