We’re now less than 100 days until municipal election day on October 26, 2026. We’re also about a month away from the nomination deadline on August 21.
By my count there are 67 candidates registered so far for the 24 ward races and for Mayor – an average of 2.68 per seat at the council table. I hope that more candidates sign up to run, especially in the seven wards where there’s only one candidate registered.
(I am not running for re-election.)
When I meet with candidates and prospective candidates, they often ask what a councillor’s job actually entails. Here’s how I would describe it.
There are 25 people on city council: 24 councillors plus one mayor. Each councillor represents a different geographic area of the Ottawa, and we all have an equal vote – even the mayor.
Councillors help residents with any city service. The city looks after just about anything that has to do with your local neighbourhood except for schools and healthcare. There are over 160 distinct service areas that the city offers, including things like clean drinking water, picking up your garbage and compost, parks maintenance, streetlights, snow plowing, emergency services, social services supports, and much more.
There are four main parts to the role:
My job as a ward councillor is to be your voice, or a sort of “ombudsperson” to help you resolve any issues. Councillors are not city employees and we are independent from city staff, but we have access to information and contacts to help residents solve problems. Perhaps you’re not happy with the level of service, or you’re not sure who to contact for assistance, or you have a complex issue that nobody has been able to resolve. That’s when you can call us. (Otherwise, please make a service request to ottawa.ca/311/.)
My job as a city councillor is to set the direction and provide oversight over how the city operates. We set a city budget, develop bylaws, and advocate for new policies to try to address city-wide issues and make life better in Ottawa—things like affordable housing, transit, climate change, and safety.
Another role of a councillor is about community building: working with other individuals and organizations within the community on projects that are important to Stittsville. For example: We’ve done a lot of work on revitalizing Stittsville Main Street, we’ve established a diversity committee to identify gaps and provide more services for newcomers to Stittsville, and we’re working on bringing a health hub to Stittsville.
We are communicators, providing a conduit between City Hall and residents. We make sure you know what’s going on in the city and in the local community, and we share your concerns and ideas with municipal staff. That can be through email newsletters, traditional media, video, social media, and so on.
Other duties as required. There are always surprises.
Councillors weigh these responsibilities differently, and each person has strengths in different areas. I rank the “solving problems for residents” and “communication” as the highest priorities, but each aspect is important. (My favourite, and the most rewarding aspect, is the community building.)
If you’re thinking about running and have any questions, please get in touch! We’re now less than 100 days until municipal election day on October 26, 2026. We’re also about a month away from the nomination deadline on August 21.
By my count there are 67 candidates registered so far for the 24 ward races and for Mayor – an average of 2.68 per seat at the council table. I hope that more candidates sign up to run, especially in the seven wards where there’s only one candidate registered.
(I am not running for re-election.)
In meeting with candidates and prospective candidates, they often ask what a councillor’s job entails. Here’s how I would describe the work.
There are 25 people on city council: 24 councillors plus one mayor. Each councillor represents a different neighborhood in the community, and we all have an equal vote – even the mayor.
Councillors help residents with any city service. The city looks after just about anything that has to do with your local neighborhood except for schools and healthcare. There are over 160 distinct service areas that the city offers, including everything from clean drinking water to picking up your garbage, to parks maintenance, to streetlights and road maintenance, emergency services, social services supports, and much more.
There are four main parts to the role:
My job as a ward councillor is to be your voice, or a sort of ombudsperson to help you resolve any issues. Councillors are not city employees and we are independent from city staff, but we have access to information and contacts to help residents solve problems. Perhaps you’re not happy with the level of service, or you’re not sure who to contact for assistance, or you have a complex issue that nobody has been able to resolve. That’s when you can call us. (Otherwise, please make a service request to ottawa.ca/311/.)
My job as a city councillor is to set the direction and provide oversight over how the city operates. We set a city budget, develop bylaws, and advocate for new policies to try to address city-wide issues and make life better in Ottawa—things like affordable housing, transit, climate change, and safety.
Another role of a councillor—something that I really enjoy—is about community building: working with other individuals and organizations within the community on projects that are important to Stittsville. For example: We’ve done a lot of work on revitalizing Stittsville Main Street, we’ve established a diversity committee to identify gaps and provide more services for newcomers to Stittsville, and we’re working on bringing a health hub to Stittsville.
We are communicators, providing a conduit between City Hall and residents. We make sure you know what’s going on in the city and in the local community, and we share your concerns and ideas with municipal staff. That can be through email newsletters, traditional media, video, social media, and so on.
Other duties as required. There are always surprises.
Councillors weigh these responsibilities differently, and each person has strengths in different areas. I rank the “solving problems for residents” and “communication” as the highest priorities, but each aspect is important. (My favourite, and the most rewarding aspect, is the community building.)
If you’re thinking about running and have any questions, please get in touch! I would really like to see multiple candidates registered in every ward for this election.
Recommended reading: My former council colleague Keith Egli is also writing about the campaign with information for candidates.
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