An election guide for people who don't have time to read everything | Opinion

File photo of a "vote" sign in Ottawa. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

Article content

The municipal election is less than a month away and I want us to show up in great numbers. In 2022 the voter turnout was 43.79 percent, up from 42.55 percent in 2018. Can we hit 45 percent or more this time and keep increasing the number? In the interest of helping you cast an informed ballot, here is Brigitte’s Handy Guide to the 2026 Ottawa Election for People Who Don’t Have Time to Read Everything.

Article content

Article content

I have followed this campaign since before it officially began. I’ve attended events with all four main mayoral campaigns, followed door-knocking candidates in Kanata-South, Stittsville, Nepean and Orleans. I’ve had in-depth conversations with the candidates, as well as campaign staff and volunteers. I’ve read the platforms and watched debates and social media videos. I’ve driven around town looking to see where candidates have the most signs on private property.

Article content

Article content

The first question to ask yourself is: Are you happy with the way the city is being run right now and is your top issue keeping your tax bill low? If your answer is a strong yes, then you should vote to re-elect Mark Sutcliffe because he will continue the same way he’s been going for four years.

Article content

The way things stand, it is his race to lose. In municipal politics, incumbents almost always win, unless they have a big personal scandal to their names. That’s the usual pattern, which is liable to repeat itself unless the number of Ottawans who aren’t giving a strong yes to that first question show up to vote in significant numbers.

Article content

Article content

If you’re not super happy with the status quo, what are your options?

Article content

Article content

Jeff Leiper, the candidate currently in second position, is a good choice if you want someone with deep insider knowledge and experience, a process nerd, a man who reads reports for fun and who’s not promising to do anything too radical. Likewise if you want someone who has a good team with whom to work since he’s been a councillor for 12 years. Leiper knows city hall from the inside.

Article content

If your main goal is to unseat Sutcliffe, voting for Leiper is the most efficient way to do that, followed closely by a vote for Alex Lawson. Yes, you read that right.

Article content

Lawson is an outsider, more to the right of the spectrum, young (38 years old) and politically inexperienced. A small business owner with no team of councillors ideologically aligned. Yet he is getting a fair bit of attention. Intrigued, I spent a lot of time watching him interact with people. I am impressed by how easily people seem to relate to him. It’s hard to explain why, but there’s no denying it’s happening.

Article content

His political inexperience is a double-edged sword, especially in a world where there’s a lot of uncertainty. A vote for Lawson is a vote for some level of disruption. And goodness knows this city needs some of that. If you want to unseat Sutcliffe and aren’t too wild about Leiper, voting Lawson is a good way to reduce the mayor’s numbers.