Yes, I will run for mayor - an open letter

July 6, 2010

It is with a mixture of feelings that I announce, I'm not seeking re-election in the 2010 municipal election campaign for Capital Ward. During the last 12 years, I've had the great good fortune to help re-build and restore Capital Ward from one end to the other - we have renovated the Old Firehall, the Sunnyside Library, the Glebe Community Centre; Heron and Brantwood Park Fieldhouses.

The re-design of Bank, Main and Bronson Streets are underway and the re-build of these streets will begin soon. We now have a Farmer's Markets in every community of the ward, the largest one in Canada at Lansdowne Park.

I must thank my constituents who have supported me through the highs and lows of four consecutive mandates making me the longest serving city councillor ever in Capital Ward. You have been wonderful and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I'm not exaggerating when I say there's no other job I've liked more. I've adored being a city councillor. It is impossible to leave without feeling a sense of regret, but leave I must.

I'm leaving because in a few minutes I will be signing the registration papers to enter the Mayoralty race. The race for Mayor is one of the toughest, political campaigns in the country. More people vote for the Mayor of a large city than they do for the Prime Minister of the country. And I get why.

The decisions a city council makes, whether it is subdivisions, stadiums, hydro, roads or transit, have a direct and immediate effect on constituents. A Mayor has to be not only accountable for how council's decisions affect the wards their constituents live in, but also ensure that these decisions are good for the greater ward they're all part of: the City of Ottawa.

I'm not in any way intimidated by the challenge. I've spent 12 years training for the job. On October 25th, I want to give Ottawa a clear choice and a clear voice. What do I mean by a clear choice? I mean, that after 12 years on city council, I can say one thing with absolute certainty: Developers have more say in running this city than your elected officials.

They decide where the development is going to be; how dense it is going to be, no matter how your council votes. If you don't believe me ask the folks in Manotick about Mahogany Harbour.

They decide if you're going to keep an old growth forest, if you don't believe me check with the folks in Kanata about the South March Highlands forest.

They decide if your zoning for the height of buildings will be respected or not. If you don't believe me check with any community, anywhere across our city who have tried to fight a developer's rezoning application at city hall.

They decide where the city's new stadium will be built, how much it will cost and who will pay for it. If you don't believe me check with the folks in my ward.

All the essential issues, the ones that cost millions are decided 'in camera' behind closed doors:

The cancelling of the north/south light rail line decided behind closed doors.

The Terry Fox extension decided behind closed doors.

The two month OC Transpo strike debated behind closed doors and for what to finish where we should have started.

The cancelling of the city's open design competition for Lansdowne decided behind closed doors.

I'm not running to be the developer's go-to-guy and I will not run the city behind closed doors. If Ottawa chooses me for mayor, I will throw those doors wide open.

I have no illusions. I know it's going to be very tough. It's a very rare day a Mayor is ever elected without financing from developers.

Nor do I have any illusions about myself. I'm just an ordinary guy with ordinary fears. I fear cancer. I fear that my grandchildren will not enjoy the same wonderful city that I have. But I have no doubts about the rightness of taking on developers or trying to do things cheaper and better for taxpayers.

I ask Ottawa for only one thing. Listen to what I say, not what others say of me. Measure me by what I've done. By the buildings that stand in the community that first elected me.

Judge me by the positions I have taken. When the bus strike was declared, I was the first to say send it to arbitration. Two months later, after millions of dollars and countless jobs were lost, they listened.

I will be raising money for my campaign just as I have as a city councillor in small donations from ordinary people. It will not be easy, but no mountain has ever been climbed without taking the first step. Today I am taking the first step.

I look forward to seeing you on the campaign trail and say to those who have supported me in the past I will do my best to retain your confidence and to those who have not - my best to earn it.

Clive