Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson teases re-election announcement

By Dani-Elle Dubé

Posted Dec 9, 2021 02:36:00 AM.

Will he or won’t he — that’s been the question on the minds of Ottawa residents and councillors this year as they wait in anticipation to see if Mayor Jim Watson will be running again in the next municipal election.

During a media briefing following the city council meeting on Wednesday, December 8, Watson was asked the question, and he provided an answer… well, sort of.

His response: He will let us know by December 31.

Despite persisting light rail transit (LRT) issues, Watson said back in March that those issues wouldn’t have an impact on his decision to seek re-election.

In 2018, Watson was among the 12 nominees listed on the ballot for mayor. Watson won with over 71 per cent of the votes (or 188,960 votes). Clive Doucet placed second with over 22 per cent of the votes (or 59,156 votes).

In total, there were 269,772 ballots cast — that turns out to be almost a 43 per cent voter turnout.

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