Seven new representatives to sit around City of Ottawa’s council table

Nearly a third of Ottawa's city council is going to look different when they are sworn in next term.

In Orleans, 17 candidates were vying for outgoing councillor Bob Monette's seat. Matthew Luloff and Catherine Kitts emerged as the top two competitors when ballots started pouring in, Thursday. Luloff ended up edging Kitts by just 264 votes to claim his spot as the new city representative in Orleans.

One of the closest races of Ottawa's election night happened in Capital ward, where Shawn Menard got past Christine McAllister and incumbent David Chernushenko. The three just about split the vote, but Menard came out on top with 28%. McAllister fell just behind him with 25% of the vote. Chernushenko was third, gaining 23% support from Ward 17 voters.

The incumbent told supporters at Patty’s Pub that he was surprised by the loss and hadn’t prepared a concession speech.

“I could see right from the outset that I faced really strong campaigns,” said Chernushenko. “I upped my game as I never have before. I had incredible people and feedback was great, so frankly I'm surprised.”

Menard said the first thing he will tackle at city hall will be building developers' influence in Ottawa’s local government.

Gloucester-South Nepean featured an upset. Former 1310 NEWS talk show host and long-time broadcaster Carol Anne Meehan won the race in ward 22 over incumbent Michael Qaqish.

Another incumbent was ousted in Stittsville, where Glen Gower beat Shad Qadri. That was just a two-man race, which Gower ended up winning somewhat convincingly, collecting 57% of the vote in that ward.

Innes will be represented by Laura Dudas next term, who garnered more than 41% of the vote in Ward 2. That ward is being vacated by Jody Mitic.

Kanata North's Marianne Wilkinson got her wish, as she was hoping to see another woman take her council seat. Jenna Sudds was victorious in the ward, as she took 46% of ballots cast.

Bay ward, which is being vacated by Deputy Mayor Mark Taylor, will be represented by Theresa Kavanaugh in the next term.

It was a successful election night for 16 incumbent councillors, including: Jan Harder in Barrhaven, Eli El-Chantiry in West Carleton-March, Rick Chiarelli in College, Keith Egli in Knoxdale-Merivale, Diane Deans in Gloucester-Southgate, Tim Tierney in Beacon Hill-Cyrville, Mathieu Fleury in Rideau-Vanier, Tobi Nussbaum in Rideau-Rockcliffe, Catherine McKenney in Somerset, Jeff Lieper in Kitchissippi, Riley Brockington in River, Jean Cloutier in Alta Vista, Stephen Blais in Cumberland, George Darouze in Osgoode, Scott Moffatt in Rideau-Goulbourn, and Allan Hubley in Kanata South.

Of those 16 races, the only one which was ever in doubt was Alta Vista, where Jean Cloutier's vote total topped Raylene Lang-Dion by only 201.

Voter turnout was up to 42.5% this year, as 269,772 ballots were cast. Only 39% of eligible voters came out during Ottawa's last municipal election.

The new Ottawa City Council will be sworn in on December 1.