The Ottawa Citizen from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada • 68

4 The Ottawa Citizen, Wednesday, November 6, 1991 Municipal election '91 Ottawa Council Sd foes sparfs hot. contest in Lowertowin 1 1 mm i. ii. He wants to be "a reDmsentfl- By Carrie Buchanan Citizen city hall bureau tive voice on council for people who have lived the very real horror of hopelessness associated wnn ine world of the soup kitchens the 'unemployables, the tormer alcoholics, who are reliable and dependable but who are not given the chance to prove 1 The battle for By-Rideau has been shaping up since March, when Ottawa Council chose developer Pierre Bourque, to replace Marc Laviolette as councillor. Laviolette was elevated to the mayor's chair after Jim Durrell resigned to become full-time president of the Ottawa Senators hock ay -i si tnemseives.

Beaudry wants to see mnr af fordable housing in Ottawa nartif. ularly on LeBreton Flats. And he minKs puoiic works programs like ey club. ftp MM environmental cleanups should be The continuing rivalry between usea 10 get people off welfare. Bourque and his chief opponents in March Richard Cannings and Maurice Page has made By-Rideau a ward to watch.

All three MAURICE PAGE are running again. The fourth candidate, Richard After losing the March council vote to replace interim mayor i Beaudry, is a reporter for the bi Marc Laviolette as ward aldprman Richard Beaudry Maurice Pag6 Richard Cannings Pierre Bourque weekly newspaper, the Ottawa Downtowner. He ran third in 1968. By-Rideau has slumbered in the shadows for a decade, represented by the low-profile Laviolette, who He also worked against a high-rise building slated for 99 Rideau and the proposed American embassy in Mile Circle. And he was a part-time councillor before becoming mayor.

Francophones make up 31 per cent of the population in the ward. During his seven months on council, Bourque has made his mark, voting against big projects like Triple-A baseball and Lansdowne Park. He opposes any sensus-builder." On ward issues, Bourque has not been shy. Ignoring the cries of heritage buffs, he called for demolition of the Daly building and the fire-damaged block at Clarence and Dalhousie streets, when fire inspectors pronounced them hazardous. Taxes and fiscal management are top issues for Bourque.

He wants the city and region to get back to basic services like roads, sidewalks, parks and affordable bus passes. Public safety is another priority. RICHARD CANNINGS Former Heritage Ottawa president Richard Cannings, 48, already has a high profile in civic politics. The red haired former televi tax increase, preferring to hold the line even if It means layoffs and service cuts. Page vowed to try again in November.

He has kept his word. The 51-year-old typesetter and graphic artist worked 30 years for be Droit, taking early retirement when the paper cut 200 jobs in 1989. He lives, with his wife and two children, in the Beausoleil Housing Co-operative. Pag6 cites 27 years of community service, including work for the Beausoleil and Brebeuf Housing Co-ops, the Caisse populaire Ste-Anne-Laurier, the Ste-Anne Clinic and the Lowertown East Citizens Committee. Traffic congestion on King Edward Avenue is a major issue for Page, who also opposes extending the Vanier Parkway to divert traffic.

He proposes a new interpro-vincial bridge between Orleans and Ottawa and, within five years, a ban on interprovincial truck traffic through By-Rideau. Rideau Street is another priority. "Rideau Street is dying, if it's not already dead," he says. "It should be the most beautiful street in all of Ottawa." Bourque was at odds with Can third in 1988 with 360 votes. A reporter for the Ottawa Downtowner, Beaudry angered other By-Rideau candidates by attempting to interview them for stories about the election.

All refused, saying it was a conflict of in-" terest for Beaudry to write about an election in which he's a candidate. At first, Beaudry claimed it wasnt a conflict since he was asking them the same questions he asked candidates in other wards. Eventually, he agreed and has taken a leave of absence from his job until after the electioa A unilingual anglophone, Beaudry worked for eight years as a mail messenger at Indian and Northern Affairs, where he was also a union shop steward. He spent 11 years working as a cleaner and day laborer before starting at the Downtowner in 1987. Beaudry wants to be a voice on council for people like himself, who have experienced poverty and welfare.

"It is time that the 'ins' allow the 'outs' a say at city council," he said in a written statement clean on such things. Page welcomed the initiative, saying his only holding is a $1,000 share in the Beausoleil Housing Co-operative, where he lives. Bourque declined to follow suit, saying it's not required under provincial law. PIERRE BOURQUE When Pierre Bourque, 33, became ward councillor in March, he wasnt expected to attract much attention on council. After all, his 10-year career as a racing car driver, followed by a brief apprenticeship in his father's land development business, were his only qualifications for public office.

But Bourque has shown himself to be one of council's hardest workers, with near-perfect attendance at committee and council meetings. He hasnt been impressed with what he calls "the bull-in-the-china-shop approach" of some councillors. He hopes to be a "con- nings on the Cattle Castle and Daly helped organize Save the Heart of the City, a coalition against the Vanier Parkway extension and Queensway collector lanes. Cannings began his election campaign in earnest in mid-August, and says he has 300 volunteers and $10,000 in donations, Raised in Montreal, Cannings moved to Ottawa in 1976. He has worked for several prominent Liberal politicians.

"I'm not a card-carrying Liberal at the moment. My cards have expired," he says. He and his wife, Julie Van Dusen, own 11 small apartment buildings in Lowertown, New Edinburgh and Sandy Hill. They live in Lowertown and have three preschool-age children. RICHARD BEAUDRY Richard Beaudry, 45, is making his second try at By-Rideau's council seat, after placing a distant building, which Bourque wanted demolished while Cannings fought to save them.

Cannings calls Bourque "a spokesman for the development in dustry." But Bourque says he resigned in March from his father's land-development firm and doesnt cater to any special-interest groups. Cannings was the first candidate sion journalist has championed heritage issues with his Save the Byward Market campaign and efforts to preserve the now-doomed Daly building, the Cattle Castle and other Ottawa landmarks. to reveal his real-estate holdings, saying it's essential to open government for candidates to come ROCXCUIft Student challenges two-term councillor By Carrie Buchanan Ottawa city hall bureau rap Jy main rf 1 I CflNTERBURY John Ross George Brown For a while it seemed that George Brown, 31, would be acclaimed to a third term as councillor for Riverside ward, in southwest Ottawa. But 23 year-old Carleton University student John Ross wasn't about to let Brown get off that easily. Ross filed nomination papers just before closing time on the final day, Oct 11.

"I thought voters should have a choice," said Ross, a first-year commerce student who worked previously as an electronics engineering technician. Now Brown is forced to defend his performance, which in- last winter. Brown has travelled frequently, also at taxpayers' expense, as a delegate for the city and region to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. He attends four conferences yearly, in various Canadian cities. Brown also wins the flip-flop prize on a council renowned for reversing its decisions.

On Lansdowne Park, he changed his vote five times, supporting the trade show hall in June, opposing it in July, then voting for a smaller version, then voting in August to kill it. On the Cattle Castle, he voted to demolish it in June, to re-tender and proceed with renovations in July, then to demolish it in August On some issues Brown has been consistent He has championed city involvement in subsidized housing and chairs Ottawa's city-run non-profit housing corporation. He bas supported Dennis Leung, Citizen eludes council's worst attendance record: he missed 18 per cent of scheduled council and committee meetings this term. Brown says he was prevented from attending some meetings by back problems and part-time studies at Carleton University. Ross thinks he can do better, but admits to a lack of knowledge about local issues.

He says he hasnt had time to get involved in the community because of part-time jobs during high school, college and university. Brown, on the other hand, lists a host of issues he's committed to, like getting access to the Airport Parkway for local traffic, cleaning up stormwater going into the Rideau River, protecting Sawmill Creek when the trans-itway goes through, preserving the library's bookmobile, and lobbying for one-tier government Last-minute candidacy prevents 2nd acclamation for Maloney By Ron Eade Citizen city hall bureau was kidding.) He criticized the Na tional Gallery for hanging a con troversial "meat dress" another the Greenpnnt setting the region's environmental priorities, and studies aimed at cleaning up the Rideau River. He helped found the Metro Ottawa Entre-preneurship Centre to encourage local businesses. He promises to continue lobbying for one-tier government L.1 for more lighting around social housing projects on Caldwell Avenue, where she says the break-in rate is high. She also wants more police presence in the community, and would work toward a Neighborhood Watch program.

(In October, Ottawa opened its fourth community policing centre in Carlington at the Alexander GEORGE BROWN Mark Maloney Lynda Flowers waste, he said then six months later asked council to name an alleyway for an Elvis Presley fan club. Maloney has been busy. He chairs the region's health committee and fought for public release of restaurant inspection reports. He is a trustee of the Ottawa Civic Hospital, and led the campaign to get paramedics and the 911 emergency phone number in Ottawa-Carleton. He has pushed regional efforts for suicide prevention and funding After six years on council, George Brown, 31, is ready for another three-year term.

But voters will find Brown a changed man. Once considered part of council's left wing, Brown has increasingly voted with the right calling for fiscal restraint while supporting megaprojects like the $72-million new city hall and city financing for Triple-A Community Centre.) Flowers would oppose restoration of the Cattle Castle at Lansdowne Park, which she says is too expensive for the city. "If it's going to cost a lot of money then tear it I myself think it's wasted money." MARK MALONEY Incumbent Coun. Mark Maloney is facing his first challenge in six years after he was acclaimed in 198a Opponent Lynda Flowers, a hairdresser, said she entered the race at the last minute because "nobody should be acclaimed" twice. Carlington-Westboro ward, called Queensboro before Maloney urged a name change, is split by the Queensway with residential neighborhoods and pockets of light industry and offices on either side.

To the south is Carlington, where many residents are tenants; to the north, Westboro is a middle-class stronghold and fertile ground for renovators and developers. Carlington-Westboro is one of the city's four western wards and ranks among three areas in Ottawa with the lowest voter turnout in 1988. Only 27 per cent went to the polls the last time to choose JOHN ROSS Carleton University student John Ross, 23, signed up as a candidate in Riverside ward to give voters a choice. Although he has lived in the ward for 21 years, Ross admits, "I havent been able to pay as much attention as I would like to community issues." He was fully occupied with school and part-time jobs, he says. He has worked as a store cashier and supervisor, an electronics manufacturing technician and a repairman for cash registers and small computers.

He earned an Algonquin diploma in electronics engineering technology and is now a first-year commerce student at Carleton. He wants to reduce traffic con LYNDA FLOWERS Lynda Flowers grew up in the Morisset Avenue and City View area, and says she knows what her neighbors are looking for at Ottawa city hall safe streets. She wont disclose her age. Flowers has worked with single parents at Carlington Community Resource Centre, and at Parents Pre-School Resource Centre. She decided to run for office two days before nominations closed on Oct 11 to avoid a second acclamation for incumbent Mark Maloney.

Her chances of victory may be slim, Flowers concedes, "but IH make him (Maloney) work for this" in the current campaign. "The only background I really have (in municipal affairs) is I know a lot of people and I know what they want" Flowers says. If elected. Flowers would push for AIDS education and preven-tioa A member of Ottawa Council's planning committee, Maloney favors one-tier government to avoid waste and duplication of bureaucracy and services. He has pushed for beach cleanup, and is a strong advocate for more trees in the capital.

A director of Ottawa-Carleton Economic Develop Corp, Maloney opposes the city's international twinning program and cultural exchanges, but endorses efforts to stimulate international trade. He is opposed to wide-open Sunday shopping. baseball and the Rough Riders. Brown attributes his new, pro-development attitude to business seminars at York University and Banff Centre for Management which he attended at taxpayers' expense: $5,000 for the two-week "executive program" at York, $2,900 for the one-week Banff seminar on sustainable economic development. Figures include travel costs.

He has also earned council's worst attendance record, taking part-time courses (which he paid for himself) toward a masters degree in social work at Carleton University. He also coached the Ravens hockey club at Carleton Mark Maloney, 36, is a lifelong ward resident who kept his 1965 campaign promise to be accessible to the public. He has a reputation for being among the hardest-working members on council with a penchant for canvassing constituents between elections. Maloney has a low tolerance for public art that he doesnt like. He counselled residents to deface a $40,000 Inuit art sculpture outside the new regional headquarters because he said it was a waste of money.

(Later, he said he the mayor and school trustees. Infill housing development is a perennial issue in Carlington- Westboro as neighborhood activ-ists have traditionally opposed gestion on Riverside Drive and Bank Street by making the Airport Parkway a regular thoroughfare. And he opposes plans to run the transitway through Sawmill Creek, suggesting a bridge over the site to preserve the wooded area carving up residential lots to shoehorn in larger, multiple residen tial buildings..