Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe has made his pitch for a second term in an op-ed in the Ottawa Citizen, with keeping the city affordable at the centre of it. The piece is Sutcliffe's own account of his plans and his record, so everything below is his claim, in his words.
Part of a daily series
The Citizen asked the four leading candidates for mayor to explain, in their own words, what they plan to do if they win. The op-eds are running one per day this week.
Sutcliffe says he is running "to protect our quality of life, build a stronger and more resilient local economy, and keep Ottawa affordable."
What he is promising on costs
The headline pledge for transit riders is a cut in the monthly pass to $95. Sutcliffe calls that the lowest price in the country and says it would put $500 a year back in the pockets of regular passengers.
On property taxes, he says he has committed to keeping increases to no more than 2.5 per cent in the next two years. He also says he will find another $250 million of savings and efficiencies, which he describes as a way to invest in residents' priorities and keep life affordable.
Housing and homelessness
Sutcliffe pledges to build 650 more supportive housing units. He frames them as a response to the toxic drug supply, mental health needs and youth homelessness.
He also points to what he says has already happened. According to the op-ed, funding for affordable and supportive housing has increased by more than 250 per cent during his term.
Planning for growth
Sutcliffe notes that the city's population is expected to grow by 500,000 people over the next 25 years. In response, he says he will launch "the most ambitious infrastructure plan in Ottawa's history" to build the roads, transit, recreation and community spaces the city needs.
His record, as he tells it
The op-ed leans on the first term. Sutcliffe says infrastructure investment rose by more than 40 per cent and that the budget for roads and sidewalks nearly doubled. He says the city hired 340 more police officers and paramedics.
He also says he secured more than $5 billion of investment from other levels of government for transit, infrastructure, housing and public safety.
On transit, he says the city purchased 500 new buses. He writes that the LRT east extension to Orléans will open to the public "very soon." The op-ed does not give a date, and none is announced in the material ottown reviewed.
What led here
The tax pledge has come up before. At the Ottawa Board of Trade mayoral debate, candidates were pressed on how much they would raise property taxes, and only Sutcliffe named a number. ottown covered that in ottown's earlier report, noting that the other candidates declined to name a figure.
Transit has also been a point of friction in the race. A Manotick reader wrote to the Citizen's letters page that OC Transpo's problems should not all be blamed on Sutcliffe, responding to comments by mayoral candidate Alex Lawson. That letter is summarized in ottown's earlier report.
What to watch
Because the Citizen is publishing one op-ed a day this week from the four leading candidates, readers will be able to compare the plans side by side. The op-ed does not say where the $250 million in savings would come from, so that is one detail worth watching for as the campaign continues.
Sources: Ottawa Citizen
