Meet the candidates in Ward 16 – River

River

There are three people running for councillor in River ward, including incumbent Riley Brockington. The ward includes Carlington Park, the area around the Central Experimental Farm and Mooney's Bay.

• 2018 municipal election voter turnout: 38.55
• Projected 2022 population: 49,427
• Projected 2026 population: 50,068

CTV News Ottawa invited all registered candidates to answer a questionnaire and submit a video introducing themselves to voters. (Some candidates submitted the requested 280 characters to describe their platform, while others submitted 280 words – CTVNewsOttawa.ca accepted both).

Riley Brockington

Political experience:

River Ward City Councillor (2014-present)

River Ward School Board Trustee (2003-2010)

Professional experience:  Statistics Canada (1998-2014), Senior Analyst when I took leave in 2014

How long have you lived in Ottawa?  My entire life

Favourite Ottawa location/landmark? Within River Ward:  The Rideau River corridor, including the Hog's Back Waterfall and Park

Outside of River Ward:  I have always enjoyed soaking up the Byward Market on a busy day.

Describe your platform in 280 words or fewer: 

Better connected neighbourhoods, focus on active transportation, park, recreation and library improvements.

Stable, predictable taxes for core services.

Reliable, affordable public transportation

Protect and Build Affordable Housing

On-going attention to climate change and GHG reduction 

Alex Dugal

Political experience:

Professional experience:

How long have you lived in Ottawa?

Favourite Ottawa location/landmark?

Describe your platform in 280 words or fewer: 

My plan is simple - work on the items that matter to our neighbours, friends & community partners.

Ottawa is a great city & River Ward is a wonderful part of the city. The next council is going to have to deal with exceptional problems and we need people who will not just talk but will act.

If you ask all candidates about the important issues, we will all agree they are important. What do I offer that is different? A commitment to ensuring the important issues raised by ward residents are handled respectfully & efficiently. If it matters to you, it matters to me.

In 2018, 38% of our ward voted. In 2016, 36% voted. This time – please google your candidates and get out to vote.

I am short on space, but want to share 2 important things:

1. Transportation – We need a system that works. Public transportation is not just moving people around the city, it is the system that gets people to work, school & important events. We need a system that is reliable and efficient.

2. Housing – Ottawa Community Housing Corporation is a city owned corporation that builds, maintains & manages city owned housing. We need to give them more support and utilize government grants and programs that private corporations continue to benefit from. Imagine if we had invested adequately over the last 10 years in housing through the corporation, we would have saw exponential growth in value in last 2 years. City owned housing is an asset.

Please vote for Dugal on October 24th.

Ethan Sabourin

Political experience:  I have volunteered extensively on progressive campaigns around Ottawa. These have been electoral campaigns, but also grassroots activism fighting against sprawl and for a more affordable and livable city. I am an avid door-knocker and phone-banker in my free time and I love connecting with residents about the issues that matter to them. I also have professional experience in politics, working as a Parliamentary Assistant to an MP. 

Professional experience:  In my professional experience I have worked as a climate policy analyst at the federal government, developing the government's green procurement policy. I also recently completed a masters in climate change, which often focused on municipal action. In a mix of political and professional experience, I worked as a Parliamentary Assistant in the office of an MP. 

How long have you lived in Ottawa? I have lived in Ottawa my whole life, and in River Ward for almost 15 years. I attended the University of Waterloo, but always returned to Ottawa for summers and breaks. 

Favourite Ottawa location/landmark?  Hog's Back Falls, which sits at the centre of River Ward, is one of Ottawa's most beautiful urban locales. It combines high-quality cycling infrastructure, wide open greenspace, and water management infrastructure, with one of Ottawa's best beaches just across the street. 

Describe your platform in 280 characters or fewer:  My plan is about where we live and how we get around: housing and transportation. Ottawa can meet our challenges with new non-profit homes, public bikeshare and reliable transit. Council should focus on smart investments and a renewed public-sector approach to leave no one behind