Ottawa city hall has seen a lot of change since Jim Watson stepped away after two decades in municipal politics, and not all of it has been smooth sailing. Ottawa Citizen columnist Bruce Deachman is making the case that Watson's much-derided micromanaging instincts might actually be something worth mourning — or at least reconsidering.
The Mayor Who Couldn't Let Go
Watson was never going to win awards for delegating. Staff at city hall were well acquainted with his habit of diving into the granular details of daily operations — the kind of stuff most elected officials leave to their bureaucrats. He'd follow up on constituent complaints, scrutinize departmental decisions, and insert himself into processes that other mayors would never touch.
For many, that was exhausting. It created friction, slowed things down, and made life complicated for the professionals hired to run things. Critics were never shy about pointing it out.
But Deachman's column raises an uncomfortable question: what's the cost of not having that obsessive attention to detail?
A City That Feels Adrift
Ottawa residents who've been paying attention lately might recognize the feeling Deachman is describing. The city has faced a string of operational headaches — transit delays, service gaps, infrastructure stumbles — that have left many wondering whether anyone is watching the store with the same intensity Watson did.
That's not to say Watson was perfect. His tenure had real controversies, and his control-focused style wasn't without its downsides. But there's a difference between a leader who micromanages because they care deeply about outcomes and a vacuum where accountability quietly disappears.
What Attention to Detail Actually Buys You
In any large organization, the top leader sets a tone. When a mayor — or any executive — signals that the details matter, that attitude filters down. Staff become more careful. Problems get flagged earlier. The machine stays better calibrated.
Watson's approach, love it or hate it, communicated that nothing was beneath notice. A constituent who called about a broken sidewalk might actually get a follow-up. A department that missed a deadline would hear about it.
That kind of pressure isn't always comfortable. But cities are enormously complex systems, and they tend to drift toward entropy without someone at the top willing to push back against the slide.
Not a Call for Watson to Return
Deachman's piece isn't a campaign to bring back the former mayor — it's more of a meditation on what civic leadership actually requires. Ottawa is a city of nearly a million people with billions of dollars in annual infrastructure needs, a transit network still finding its footing, and a growing population that expects results.
The lesson from Watson's years might simply be this: caring about the boring stuff isn't a weakness. It might be the most important thing a mayor can do.
Whether current city leadership is filling that role is a question Ottawa residents will keep debating. But it's worth sitting with Deachman's observation a little longer before dismissing it as nostalgia.
Source: Ottawa Citizen. Original column by Bruce Deachman.
