Show me more of the feisty Mark Sutcliffe | Opinion

Now that Ottawa voters have given Mark Sutcliffe another four years in office, Bruce Deachman would like to see more fight in him. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

Article content

Article content

For much of the past four years, Ottawa’s now re-elected mayor has struck me as a political Casper Milquetoast, a man so determined to occupy the middle ground that he’s practically worn a groove in it. I sometimes describe him as right-of-left-of-centre.

Article content

Article content

He’s a fiscal conservative who wants to keep taxes low, a champion of public safety who wants more police officers, and a consensus-builder who rarely seems inclined to rock the boat.

Article content

Article content

But during the mayoral debates, another Mark Sutcliffe occassionally emerged.

Article content

Article content

This one was feisty. Combative. And occasionally a little nasty.

Article content

He went after challenger Jeff Leiper with an enthusiasm that seemed almost personal, repeatedly demanding to know how much Leiper intended to raise taxes and dismissing his platform as little more than a few bullet points on a website.

Article content

Fair enough.

Article content

But when Sutcliffe told Leiper, “You can’t accomplish anything,” I thought he’d crossed the line from political toughness to gratuitous nastiness.

Article content

But it did reveal something I felt was missing during much of Sutcliffe’s first term as mayor: a willingness to really fight.

Article content

Now that Ottawa voters have given him another four years in office, I’d like to see more of it.

Article content

Not the personal attacks and taunts. But the willingness to take a stand, challenge the status quo and fight for something bigger than another term in office. Sutcliffe has often said he won’t use the strong mayor powers, but what about some spirited mayor powers?

Article content

In fact, I’d like to see Sutcliffe become something he seemed to regard as an insult during his campaign: an activist.

Article content

Article content

At an earlier debate, Sutcliffe suggested that electing Leiper would give Ottawa an activist rather than a leader.

Article content

Article content

When I heard that, I thought I could hear Tommy Douglas rolling over in his grave at Beechwood Cemetery.

Article content

As Saskatchewan’s premier, Douglas was both an activist and a leader, laying the foundations for Canada’s universal health-care system. His activism wasn’t an impediment to his leadership. It defined it.

Article content

Which is not to say that Sutcliffe needs to lead a revolution, but isn’t there some room between that and chairing an agreeable council meeting?

Article content

Sutcliffe frequently cites his success in restoring civility to city hall after the increasingly fractious years that marked the end of Jim Watson’s mayoralty.

Article content

And it’s true that a council whose members can work together is preferable to one at war with itself.

Article content

But a mayor’s job isn’t simply to ensure everyone gets along. It’s to persuade people to do things they might not otherwise do. It’s to have the vision to lead the city somewhere better.

Article content

And that’s where I’ve often found Sutcliffe wanting.

Article content

His political vision seems defined by things he wants to prevent: higher taxes, greater crime, worsening traffic, public disorder.