The Ottawa Citizen from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada • 21

THE OTTAWA CITIZEN ELECTION '97 TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 1997 BS 1 mpa, ntm 1 Nepean stays the course ni j. 1 u. i juiliu 1 iij. 11 11 Jm inn 1 'J U7! SULLIVAN NJ PHILLIPS with Pitt Franklin's executive assistant succeeds him as mayor i CHIARELLI N2 RYWAK N4 FARNWORTH HARDER N6 Nepean denotes elected denotes incumbent Mayor I i N5 PAT MCGRATH, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN from her predecessor, Ben Franklin. iit-rvuuAUdic Doug Collins 9,354 Fred Ennis 3,722 BobHiggs 221 Mary Pitt 15,905 Nl Lakeshore Merv Sullivan 2,058 Bilal Syed 211 N2 Nepean Centre Rick Chiarelti acclaimed N3 Evergreen Patrick Brennan 2,657 Wayne Phillips 2,973 N4Knoxdale Margaret Rywak acclaimed NS Merivale Lee Ann Farnworth acclaimed N6 Barrhaven Bill Gordon 825 Jan Harder 3,222 Mike Kronick 1,841 Hydro Commission Berny Bauer 4,965 Mike Carroccetto 4261 Ray Clark 3,680 Ron Edwards 5,239 Marey Gregory 6,823 KathyGreiner 16,237 Ed Lauer 13,975 Martin Montague 14,475 Harold Sheehan 4,131 Bill Wright 6,234 By Ken gray The Ottawa Citizen Nepean stayed with the tried-and-true yesterday as its electorate overwhelmingly backed Mary Pitt as the city's new mayor.

It will be the first time in almost two decades that Nepean will not be led by Ben Franklin, who will step down at the end of the month. Ms. Pitt was almost in tears 10 minutes before the results started to come in, because she was so worried about the results. But she won easily, capturing 54.7 per cent of the vote. Her 15,905 easily outdistanced Doug Collins at 9,354, Fred Ennis at 3,722 and Bob Hig-gsat22i.

"I had no idea what the people would do," Ms. Pitt said. Mr. Franklin, who stayed in the background at Ms. Pitt's Merivale Road headquarters last night, came out early in the campaign for his executive assistant of the last 18 years.

He didn't work the phones or the doors for Ms. Pitt but did send out some letters of support. The outgoing mayor wanted to run but an ailing heart forced him to step down. "It's bittersweet," Mr. Franklin said.

He doesn't think people will continue to call him mayor. "Most of the people will still call me Ben." The loss was a tough one for two-term councillor Doug Collins, who pumped $30,000 into the campaign. It is the first time he has been out of politics since he entered council in 1991. While he expects to continue in the political backrooms, the 50-year-old said this will likely be the last time he will run. "I told my family there is life after politics," Mr.

Collins said. That life begins with a vacation to Cancun, Mexico, later this month. The ever-gracious Fred Ennis rushed down the street from his campaign headquarters on Merivale Road to embrace Nepean's new leader and congratulate her on the victory. Mr. Ennis was very happy with Ms.

Pitt's win and just as happy with Mr. Collins' loss. He felt Mr. Collins' failure on the podium hurt him badly in the loss. Mr.

Ennis campaign put him back $20,000. "That was my first contribution to democracy," Mr. Ennis said. "It's a big democracy." Mr. Collins kicked off his campaign Sept.

22 and it revealed a critical weakness in Mr. Collins. Even before a crowd of only 30 well-wishers and media at Nepean City Hall, he spoke haltingly and nervous- iy- It was a flaw in Mr. Collins that would come back to haunt him in the campaign. Despite his opening-day jitters, the Collins electoral machine bolted out of the blocks with his green signs sprouting up on lawns like spring weeds.

Mr. Franklin said Mr. Collins had opponent Ms. Pitt out-signed three-to-one and the outgoing mayor wondered out loud just how much Mr. Collins was spending on the campaign.

The Citizen's much-coveted endorsement went to Ms. Pitt. Ms. Pitt ran on her predecessor's coat-tails, forthrightly saying that she planned to carrying on Mr. Franklin's policies, especially his fiscal conservatism.

Her 18 years as the mayor's executive assistant were a plus, but her lack of elected experience hurt. She had run many a campaign for Mr. Franklin and the first for herself was credible and thorough, though some observers wondered how much life was left in the Franklin machine which she hoped to adopt as her own. Mr. Franklin thought the race between Ms.

Pitt and Mr. Collins was close from the beginning, but in the concluding days of the campaign, he sounded less sure of a win by his protege. He cited the small size of her name on the new electronic ballot and its location, in alphabetical order, at the bottom of the candidate list. No one was quite sure what to make of Mr. Ennis' run for the top city post at first.

Much loved by his broadcast peers, the journalist and high-tech entrepreneur surprised everyone by his strong showing in all-candidates meetings. Even opponent Ms. Pitt acknowledged that, on the podium, nobody beat Mr. Ennis, citing his experience on stage in the media. Nevertheless, Mr.

Ennis was hurt by his lack of electoral experience. But, after many a night on a podium, some wondered why this masterful performer was such a long shot at the polls. In terms of issues, it was Tory, Tory, Tory with the three candidates espousing Mr. Franklin's fiscally conservative policy of pay-as-you-go. In fact, throughout much of the campaign, it was an exercise in who could out-Ben the other Ben imitators.

But of the men (and woman) who would be Ben, Ms. Pitt seemed to take the honour through her long association with the mayor and by receiving his backing in the campaign. She said she was often met at a voter's door with the plea to not change any of Mr. Franklin's ways. On issues, it was tough to tell the candidates apart.

Mr. Collins wanted to cut taxes but was unsure if he could, given govern- Cumberland denotes elected denotes incumbent Mayor Mary Pitt accepts congratulations N6-Barrhaven ment restructuring. He was the champion of the Nepean-Kanata merger despite calling Kanata's Mayor Merle Nicholds to task over the issue. As well, Mr. Collins sought to make Ne MORGAN LEWIS Ci C2 DUGAL LALONDE C3 C4 Coburn, who won his seat by acclama-tion.

First elected to council in 1981, Mr. Coburn has served as Cumberland's mayor since 1989, taking over from Mr. Clark. Like other rural areas, Cumberland politics is expected to be drastically changed as a result of regional amalgamation. Yet unlike other "rural" townships, Cumberland is, in fact, relatively urban, with three of its four wards located in Orleans.

(As a political entity, Orleans doesn't exist, but is instead divided between Gloucester and Cumberland.) With a population of 49,000 two-thirds of it in Orleans it's almost the same size as Kanata. The township is expected to expand to more than 70,000 within 15 years. But while Cumberland's population is about the same as Kanata's, the pro I ki NRakeshore Familiar council braces for change N2-Nepean Centre N5-Merivale pean a bigger technology centre. Mr. Ennis hoped to put the issue of merger before the citizens of the community and follow their wishes, bring openness to Nepean government, and portion of business and residential assessment in the cities is not similar, with Kanata having a high corporate tax base.

As a result, economic development was a main campaign issue. In particular, Cumberland's boosters are casting their eyes longingly at their west-end counterpart. The goal is to encourage a similar high-tech boom in Cumberland and "attract our share of the wealth," Mr. Lalonde says. The desire for high-tech growth is led by Mr.

Coburn, who vows to con -Cl-Queenswood JfSV CUMBERLAND VJNdtre-Darne Navarj C2-Bilberry C3-Fallingbrookesi25- boost high-tech in the city. Ms. Pitt wanted to retain pay-as-you-go, speak with the community about the political structure of the municipality (she favors abolishing the region), and work at expanding the high-tech sector in Nepean. In the other noteworthy Nepean race, controversial former Nepean police chief Wayne Phillips defeated two-time Carleton Roman Catholic School Board trustee Patrick Brennan. On the ballot question of whether Nepean should remain a city, 24,763 voters supported the status quo while 4,051 were against.

If Nepean could not retain its present form, 22,100 backed a merger with Kanata while 6,478 were opposed. tinue pushing ahead with Cumberland's development and commercial expansion in order to promote the township as an attractive place in which to do business. Mr. Coburn has also promised to ensure a smooth transition from the OPP to the regional police and to make sure that regional reform does not lessen accountability. The township is also concerned about vandalism youth crime, which residents believe needs to be the priority for the incoming regional police force.

COBURN Mayr Brian Coburn acclaimed CI Queenswood Pat Armstrong 1,533 John Morgan 1,835 C2 Bilberry Brian Faktor 464 Dave Lewis 1,157 C3 Fallingbrook Frank Dugal acclaimed C4 Heritage Bob Cox 1,050 Gerry Lalonde 1,614 Cumberland looks to preserve identity as restructuring looms By Pauline Tam The Ottawa Citizen With the spectre of a mega-city looming, Cumberland residents voted overwhelmingly to return experienced members to township council. Within minutes after the polls closed last night, the township had already formed its new transitional council. But at Cumberland Town Hall, up the street from the Place D'Orleans shopping centre, the more pressing matter on the minds of newly elected councillors was who would represent them on regional council. There were jovial words and hearty handshakes all around as township election results came in. But an expectant hush fell over the town hall's main lobby every time the television or radio had news of the race for regional chair incumbent Peter Clark being the hometown boy or the township's two seats for regional councillor.

"People don't want that much change at this critical time," said Heritage ward Councillor Gerry Lalonde, one of two incumbents who won their seats easily yesterday. He was referring to the upcoming municipal restructuring that will reshape Ottawa-Carleton in the coming months. "I think the residents of Cumberland, like all residents of Ottawa-Carleton, have a concern about what's going to happen at the region and I think it's important for us to know who the players are Mr. Lalonde said. As proof of their reserve, voters chose John Morgan, a 51-year-old economist and marketing consultant, as the only new face on the new municipal council.

Mr. Morgan, one of two candidates in the Queenswood ward (C3), beat out Pat Armstrong, a nine-year trustee on the Carleton Roman Catholic School Board, by a slim 302 votes. It was the only ward contest approximating a race in an election that otherwise returned to office veteran politicians that include Mr. Lalonde and Dave Lewis, a retired major in the Canadian Forces, who is entering his third term as councillor. Mr.

Morgan said voters in his ward support one-ticred government. The challenge, however, is to preserve the "local identity and character" of Cumberland within the new governing structure. The four-member council likely Cumberland's last as a separate township will be led by Mayor Brian.