Somerset Councilor Catherine McKenney has officially registered to run for mayor of Ottawa.
McKenney submitted his nomination documents Tuesday to the city’s election office.
In a short topic on Twitter, before submitting documents, McKenney said their vision for Ottawa is to make it the healthiest city in the world.
I love Ottawa.
This is a modern and progressive city with so much potential.
Together we can make it the healthiest city in the world.
We can have accessible and reliable transit.
– Catherine McKenney (@cmckenney) May 3, 2022
“We can have accessible and reliable transit,” they wrote. “We can plan neighborhoods so that walking and cycling are safe and comfortable. Where no one tries to move around our city all year round. ”
McKenney is trans / non-binary and uses the pronouns they / m. They were first elected councilors in the Somerset area in 2014, winning re-election in 2018. They have announced their intention to run for mayor in December 2021, after Jim Watson will not seek another term.
Speaking to CTV’s Sean Warden on Tuesday, McKenney said they were happy their name was on the ballot.
They said climate change was a key issue.
“Everything we do now has to be put in this lens and that leads to things like transit – how to ensure that we have affordable transit that is reliable that people will use to move around their neighborhoods, to moving around the city? ” said McKenney.
McKenney added that housing and local business are also important topics.
“Housing – obviously homelessness is key,” they said. “Our local businesses, our BIAs, our main streets – sometimes we forget that they are the backbone of our neighborhood, so these are the problems today that I think, coming out of COVID and the changed world today, these are the problems we need to solve focus. “
The councilor also said he would contact rural and suburban communities.
“I will remind you that I have lived in Kanata for years. In fact, I worked for Councilor Alex Munter for many years quite successfully. “I also have an understanding of suburban communities and I believe that more and more of our suburban and rural villages and neighborhoods in the center have the same needs,” they said. “We all really want to be able to move safely through our communities, we want to be able to move in transit if that’s how we want to get to the library, the grocery store. I think that over time, each neighborhood, although unique, I think we all have the same needs. ”
McKenney joins Brandon Bay, Bob Chiarelli, Bernard Couchman and Graham MacDonald as mayoral candidates. Applicants have until August 19 to submit their nomination documents. Election day is October 24.
To see who is running for mayor, district councilor or trustee of the school board in your area, visit the city’s “Who is running in my area?” Tool.
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