Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe formally signed his nomination papers Monday, launching his bid for a second term as mayor. He said he hopes to continue cleaning the "mess" he inherited when first elected in 2022.
Progress and Challenges
"In 2022, after the trucker convoy, the pandemic, the light rail inquiry, Ottawa was struggling. And city council was toxic and dysfunctional," Sutcliffe said. "So we got to work, we got everybody working together in the community and at city council, and we went from division to collaboration."
He added: "We went from gridlock to real progress. We went from Ottawa falling behind to moving Ottawa forward, and we got a lot done in our priority areas, including public transit, public safety, affordable housing, and more. But the work isn't done."
Campaign Rules and Complaint
Sutcliffe said his campaign was following the rules "to the letter" after a complaint was filed to the city's integrity commissioner by Horizon Ottawa. The complaint focused on advertisements in community newspapers that listed Sutcliffe's priorities, with the group alleging they resembled campaign-style advertising conducted using municipal resources.
Sutcliffe said he consulted with the city clerk to ensure compliance. "The rules around this are very clear and we're following all the rules to the letter," he said. "I think the people of Ottawa would rather talk about issues like public transit, public safety, building more homes, more affordable homes, fixing our roads and sidewalks than talk about what words or email addresses were in a particular ad."
Election Landscape
Sutcliffe joins a mayoral race with three candidates who registered on the first day of the nomination period on May 1: longtime city councillor Jeff Leiper, community organizer and economist Neil Saravanamuttoo, and homebuilder Alex Lawson.
Sutcliffe rode the O-Train to the elections office, accompanied by his family and former Ottawa-Vanier Liberal MPP Madeleine Meilleur, whom he called a longtime friend and mentor.
The registration period continues until Aug. 21. Sutcliffe emphasized that he remains mayor throughout this period.
