Mark Sutcliffe has unveiled his “vision for Ottawa,” saying his plan is to “leave Ottawa better for the next generation than it is today.” The incumbent mayor released his 70-page platform on Thursday, one day before residents can vote in the Advance Voting Day as part of the City of Ottawa’s municipal election. “The job is not done. We still have a lot of work to do,” Sutcliffe said in the platform. “This plan establishes a vision for Ottawa for the next 25 years. It’s a vision for a growing city, a strong and thriving economy, the best quality of life in Canada, and a city that is safe, reliable, and affordable.” Sutcliffe’s priority outlines his proposals on affordability, building the local economy, revitalizing downtown and the ByWard Market, infrastructure, OC Transpo, public safety and rural Ottawa. The platform includes promises already released during Ottawa’s municipal election, including limiting the tax increase to 2-2.5 per cent in the first two years of the mandate, finding $250 million in savings and efficiencies in the city budget, reducing the cost of an adult monthly OC Transpo pass to $95, building 10,000 affordable homes by 2030, a $10 billion infrastructure plan to improve roads and fix aging buildings, and hiring 350 more police officers, firefighters and paramedics. Sutcliffe’s platform says he will work with employment agencies, large employers and BIAs to develop an incentive program for employers who create opportunities for young people. Sutcliffe also announced a few new measures in his platform, including improving pothole repairs, supporting people undergoing cancer treatment and making food trucks more accessible in parks. He is promising “fast, frequent, full pothole maintenance,” saying he will direct staff to overhaul the pothole management approach in Ottawa, “that establishes greater speed, frequency, and comprehensiveness in the city’s management of potholes. I will also explore increasing the city’s deployment of Python 5000 pothole patchers.” Sutcliffe says he will launch a pilot program to provide free recreation passes to patients undergoing cancer treatment living in Ottawa. For food trucks, he says he will work to allow food carts, stands and trucks to operate “more easily” in parks and on other city-owned land to improve the “vibrancy of our parks and public spaces.” The platform also outlines developing a youth strategy, including using public facilities to provide space for youth programming and creating a “Youth Sports Tournament Plan” to attract more tournaments and competitions to Ottawa. Sutcliffe says his platform includes a “broad plan” to prepare the city for an expected population increase of 500,000 people over the next 25 years. “I’m asking residents for the opportunity to build on that progress,” Sutcliffe said. “We can keep Ottawa affordable, strengthen our economy, improve our infrastructure and make our communities safer while preparing for the future. We have a responsibility to leave this city better than we found it, and I believe Ottawa’s best days are still ahead.” The City of Ottawa is hosting an Advance Voting Day on Friday, with polling stations open between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. Election day is Monday, Oct. 26. Fourteen candidates are running to be mayor of Ottawa. In alphabetical order, they are: Queen Divine Priya Amber Bakshi, Zed Chebib, Bernard Couchman, Suraj Harish, Alex Lawson, Jeff Leiper, Geoff Nicholas, Josh Rachlis, Neil Saravanamuttoo, Ali Shayvard, Jacob Solomon, Mark Sutcliffe (incumbent), Amjad Ali Syed, and Peter Westaway.
