The Ottawa Citizen from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada • 22

B6 THE OTTAWA CITIZEN TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2000 MUNICIPAL WARD 15: KITCHISSIPPI ELECTION 2000 WARD 16: RIVER I 0 Veteran returns with lopsided vote mil 1111 I rl i --oui JOHN MAJOR, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN Shawn Little celebrates as results come in last night at Moe's Newport Restaurant. He won the race in Kitchissippi Ward, defeating chief rival Linda Davis. The two consistently butted heads over development issues, such as the proposed Loblaw's store. Little wins bitter Is tA Wendy Stewart 9,687 Dave Hagerman 2,368 By Dave Rogers Even before the polls closed in River Ward, Wendy Stewart's supporters flocked to her house to congratulate the two-term regional councillor on what they expected would be her third election victory. Within minutes, it became obvious that Ms.

Stewart, the fiscal conservative who has represented the ward since 1990, had a commanding lead over her only opponent, Dave Hagerman, a day-care administrator. Mr. Hagerman, who advocated using the savings from municipal amalgamation for better services, received about 20 per cent of the vote. "We are very pleased with the results, which are similar to the last election, when I received about 80 per cent of the vote," Ms. Stewart said.

"We hoped we would do that well again and we did. "I represented the wishes of the people of the ward and it is clear that they liked what they were getting and want to see more of the same thing. "I am known in the ward be cause I write a column in every community newspaper and at tend the meetings of the com munity associations. Whenever there is a major issue, I am out there in the community." Ms. Stewart said she will push for a tax cut in Ottawa because the city pays the highest municipal taxes in Ontario.

She said her constituents are willing to pay for basic services such as snow removal, water and garbage collection, but they can't afford frills. She said the responsibilities of councillors will be clearer on the new city council because the new council will handle all municipal services instead of dividing them between regional and municipal councils. She said the past, she often had to tell residents she couldn't respond to questions about parks and recreation as a region al councillor because recreation is a city responsibility. Jim MacLean, president of the Carlington Community Association, said he supported Ms. Stewart because she opposed traffic-calming measures in the ward that were never Wendy Stewart effective.

"Wendy Stewart is a good person and supports things that help the environment," Mr. MacLean said. "Her opponent was a day-care operator from outside the ward who was running against someone who had been here for six years and has been doing a good job." Mr. Hagerman, 53, has worked for Parents' Home Child Care of Ottawa-Carleton and Glebe Parents Day Care since the late 1970s. A four-time candidate in the old City of Ottawa's Capital ward, Mr.

Hagerman came within 500 votes of defeating councillor Howard Smith during the early 1980s. He told voters he ran this time to make sure the new city works and the savings from amalgamation are used to provide accessible municipal services. Ms. Stewart, 48, the ward's regional councillor since 1994, said the main election issue was municipal taxes. Starting at Carlington near the Queensway, the ward spreads south across the Experimental Farm to Riverside Park, from Carleton Heights to the Mooney's Bay area, and then extends to Hunt Club.

Many residents, especially those from older neighbourhoods, are elderly and can no longer afford higher taxes, Ms. Stewart said. Many can pay for basic services such as garbage collection, but they don't want! extras such as arts and child-t care grants, she said. I Ms. Stewart told voters the ward needs a community police centre in Riverside Park and better recreation facilities, such as a new community centre and library in the Hunt Club area The former chairwoman of the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority said the new city should protect green spaces in the ward and preserve the water quality of the Rideau River.

Shawn Little: 6,045 Linda Davis: 5,196 Ray Kostuch: 1,609 By Laura Landon In one of the tightest and most hard-fought races of this municipal election, Shawn Little beat Linda Davis by only 849 votes. "Tonight, people fought big, and they voted Little," said Mr. Little, echoing his campaign posters. "I'm kind of flabbergasted," he said with a shaking voice as he thanked his supporters, roughly 100 of whom were crowded into the Newport Restaurant on Richmond Road. "Obviously, this ward is very diverse.

Obviously, people weren't looking for a one-issue candidate," said Mr. Little, referring to the bitter debate over a proposed Loblaw's develop- ment in the Westboro part of the ward. "Because of the Loblaw's controversy this feels extra good," said Mr. Little. "I felt really confident and the reason I felt confident is that I got out there and I knocked on a lot of doors and the feedback was very positive," although he acknowledged, "I had my dissenters." 1 Former Ottawa mayor Jim Watson, who showed up for Mr.

Little's victory party, said he was "really delighted Shawn won." "He took a gutsy and coura-; geous stand on the Loblaw's issue in spite of a lot of criticism. 1 He rose above that and was re-' elected," said Mr. Watson. Bernie Stewart, the owner of i Solo Books on Richmond Road 1 and chair of the Westboro Busi-; ness Improvement Area, said: "I'm much more concerned fl another. They consistently butted heads, chiefly over development issues such as the proposed Loblaw's store.

While Mr. Little championed the store, receiving both jeers and cheers for doing so, Ms. Davis railed against the plan. The Loblaw's issue repeatedly reared its head at all-candidates meetings, and promises to affect this ward in the new year as well, when a citizens' group appeals the development to the Ontario Municipal Board. While the candidates were divided on many issues especially how to handle development and growth they stood united on the need to cut crime in KitchissippL This diverse ward has been plagued by drugs and prostitution in areas such as Hintonburg and Mechanicsville.

Efforts to clean up the streets have been largely successful, and residents and candidates stressed the need to maintain and increase community policing. Ray Kostuch, who finished a distant third, ran on a fiscally conservative platform, repeating a mantra of tax cuts and consistently criticizing Ottawa's high property taxes. His campaign costs totalled $7,500, most of it out of his own pocket. Mr. Little spent roughly $16,000.

"I'm disappointed for sure. I guess we were just getting a polite reception at the door," said Mr. Kostuch, who runs his own engineering firm. "I'd never run again. It's discouraging.

People vote for the familiar name," he said. A Progressive Conservative candidate in the last provincial election, he echoed many of Premier Mike Harris's ideas, such as increased workfare. CAPITAL Mr. Doucet is outspoken in his determination to prevent the construction of the Alta Vista Parkway, which is in the region's official plan. He plans to fight for light-rail transit and bus routes on the right of way, to reduce the number of cars heading into his central ward.

A four-lane arterial would destroy areas now used as parkland, he said. Building more and more roads is 1950s thinking, Mr. Doucet says. He wants Jm-proved public transit, including light-rail service on an east-west route and from the airport north to downtown and across the Ottawa River to Hull. Taxes were a big concern for Mr.

Bickford. He said he'd work to make sure that savings promised as part of amalgamation would come though and be used to reduce residents' tax burden. rat with this ward than the ward I live in because this is the ward I earn my living in. "He appeals to residents who don't belong to special-interest groups," said Mr. Stewart, citing, for example, the Community Before Cars Stewart said business is not a special-interest group.

Because of the close tally and the fact that computer problems plagued the counting, Ms. Davis said the battle may not be over. "We understand there have been some difficulties getting these numbers. We will be checking them," she said before ushering her children out the door of Gentle Annie's pub on Richmond Road in Westboro. Ms.

Davis's supporters said she was not a single-issue candidate. "Linda was against the Loblaw's. I was for it. You don't have to agree with everything," about me." "It's about clean air and a city with a high quality of life. We have our fingers crossed." His first news was good with Cam Robertson, a scrutineer, arriving to tell Mr.

Doucet that he had 1,345 votes to Jim Bick-ford's 279 in poll seven. When Mr. Doucet was declared elected, he picked up Sue Begg, one of his campaign managers, and swung her in a circle. "Where we go from here depends on the councillors who are elected," Mr. Doucet said.

"I don't take much joy making the right speeches and losing the votes. I'd rather make the right speeches and win the votes. We'll have to wait and see." "We tried and it didn't work out," said Mr. Bickford, offering his congratulations. "I'll go and do something else that's not in the public forum." While each of the ward's said Diana Barnes.

"Obviously, I'm disappointed and everybody in this room is disappointed, and the 5,000 people who voted for Linda Davis are disappointed," said Davis campaign official Andy Rapoch. Tim Marta, a resident of the Kirkwood Avenue area for 15 years, said: "A voter said there are still issues to be resolved despite Mr. Little's win. We'll continue on. "My big issue is the Loblaw's, and it's not just because it's a Loblaw's, it's about planning and good development.

The candidate that I supported had a community-based approach," said Mr. Marta. Throughout the election campaign, candidates and voters repeatedly remarked about the tight, snarly race in Kitchissippi. Ms. Davis and Mr.

Little who sat in opposite camps on many issues openly dislike one WARD 17: Clive Doucet separate communities had particular concerns, the question of roads and transit was an overwhelming consideration throughout the campaign. Mr. Doucet, the "left-leaning" champion of neighbourhoods, traffic calming and public transit, took on the pragmatic fiscal conservative Mr. Bickford, who advocated a balanced approach to all issues and wants to keep expenditures within the city's means. If.

Car opponent Doucet wins in a walk CliveDoucet 7,515 JimBickford 3,161 BY JANICE MANCHEE Victory came quickly and decisively for Clive Doucet in Capital Ward. He was one of the first councillors declared elected, little more than 20 minutes after the polls had closed. "What a team! Wow!" said Mr. Doucet, receiving congratulations and hugs from his supporters. "Twenty minutes!" Just prior to this, Mr.

Doucet had declared he didn't know who would win the race. His only challenger was Jim Bickford. "You run so hard and you live inside a bubble," Mr. Doucet said. "It's a very foolish candidate who thinks they know.

I ran hard because this is about a vision for the city a spaghetti of freeways and malls or light-rail. This is not 'N.