'For all of Ottawa': Mark Sutcliffe elected mayor

For Ottawa mayor-elect Mark Sutcliffe, tonight is for celebrating but tomorrow is when the hard work begins.

“This election was never about me or any other candidate,” the 54-year-old rookie politician told a cheering crowd Monday night.

“It was always about you, the people of Ottawa, and the kind of city that we can build together. Tonight the people of Ottawa made a clear decision. You voted for positive change. You voted for compassion and fiscal responsibility. You voted for a safer, more reliable and more affordable city. You voted for an approach that works for all.”

The 54-year-old former journalist was declared the winner over Catherine McKenney on Monday night by the city's major broadcasters as the votes were still being counted. McKenney was unable to close the gap with Sutcliffe. About an hour after the polls closed, they conceded the race and congratulated Sutcliff on his victory.

Sutcliffe replaces outgoing mayor Jim Watson, who announced in December that he would not be seeking a fourth term. Watson was Ottawa’s longest-serving mayor. 

Sutcliffe, the co-founder of the Ottawa Business Journal and an avid runner, promised to make the city safer, reliable and affordable for everyone. Within the first 100 days in office, he wanted to find $35 million in savings, reduce children's fees by 10 per cent, freeze transit fares and limit property taxes to a maximum of 2.5 per cent.

His slogan was "A mayor for all of Ottawa."

This is Sutcliffe’s first time in office.

Sutcliffe and McKenney aimed to take the city in different directions, said Jerald Sabin, an assistant professor at Carleton University's School of Public Policy and Administration.

In his speech, he thanked McKenney and said he “always admired and respected Catherine. And every day during this campaign, I gained even more respect for them.”

McKenney, first elected to council in 2014, joked in their concession speech that they were now unemployed but looked forward to continuing to work towards making Ottawa greener and safer.

“We need good people to enter politics,” they said. “Creative, compassionate, ambitious people who want to build a better future for those in their community. I hope that my candidacy, this campaign and the fact that we came close to victory will inspire new generations of people to come forward to serve their communities.”

McKenney was seen as one of the few political leaders who stood up for afflicted Ottawa residents during the “Freedom Convoy” protests. During one city council meeting, they livestreamed walking through the streets to hammer home just how bad the disruptions were.

Speaking to reporters, McKenney didn’t rule out running federally or provincially.

“I would never say never,” they said. “ But that’s certainly not on my bucket list.”

Sutcliffe and McKenney aimed to take the city in different directions, said Jerald Sabin, an assistant professor at Carleton University's School of Public Policy and Administration.

“One (direction) is decidedly progressive in its orientation and politics, and another is centrist and maintains many of the qualities of Jim Watson’s tenure at city hall,” he said, of McKenney and Sutcliffe, respectively.

“This is a change election. You have two candidates (who), in their own way, embody change. McKenney represents a change in terms of the candidate. They are a fresh face to the mayoralty but also in terms of their programs. Sutcliffe is not an incumbent, so that’s change, but he is not necessarily a radical change in terms of the policy direction for the city.”

Sabin said McKenney has a long history of working in progressive politics in Ottawa, but their presence during the convoy elevated them to a national level.

“There was a perceived absence of city leadership on the ground in the downtown core of Ottawa,” he said.

“McKenney walked around the downtown streets documenting the goings-on of the convoy and the experiences of local residents and became a voice across the country for the plight of the residents of downtown Ottawa. From that basis, they built a campaign for change within Ottawa.”

Both Sutcliffe and McKenney said they would not use the province’s new "strong mayor" bill, which grants mayors in Toronto and Ottawa the ability to veto certain bylaws.

Sutcliffe arrives at city hall at a turbulent time as the nation’s capital grapples with issues with public transit, a lack of affordable housing and high taxes.