Former MPP Bob Chiarelli considering a run at Ottawa’s mayoral seat

Ottawa's 2022 mayoralty race may have its first candidate, as former mayor and former provincial cabinet minister Bob Chiarelli is openly considering running in the city's next municipal election.

Chiarelli says the voters deserve a real choice, and that he has the experience to tackle the major challenges in Ottawa's future.

“If I do decide to be a candidate for mayor, I will be a candidate whether Jim Watson is in or out of the race,” he states.

Chiarelli says his top municipal concerns include Ottawa's traffic congestion, the state of the capital's infrastructure and balancing the city's budget in the years ahead. He believes he has the experience to tackle those challenges.

Mayor Watson has previously campaigned on capping property tax increases at or near two per cent.

“The concept of freezing taxes at the consumer price index has a fallacy to it,” Chiarelli explains. The cost of municipal services rises faster than that of consumer goods, he adds.

“When you look at the municipal index, the average increases per year for an urban municipality, you're looking at somewhere between four and seven percent,” he says. “So, if you freeze [tax increases] at two per cent, without any other grants or any other sources, you've got a real problem.”

Chiarelli is 79, and will be 81 years old at the time of the next municipal election, but says voters will decide if his age is an issue.

“John Baird was elected an MPP when he was 25 years of age; Hazel McCallion was elected mayor of Mississauga when she was 92 years of age,” he says. “I'm somewhere in between.”

The next municipal election is scheduled for October 2022.