Six ward races to watch on Monday

A sign outside an advance polling station in Ottawa. Oct. 14, 2022. (Chris Black/CTV News Ottawa)

Voters head to the polls Monday to elect a new mayor of Ottawa, 24 city councillors, and a slate of school board trustees.

With no incumbent mayor and at least 11 new councillors to be named, this election will dramatically change the council chamber, no matter who wins.

• RELATED: Full municipal election coverage

The wards with no incumbents are 3 (Barrhaven West), 5 (West Carleton-March), 8 (College), 9 (Knoxdale-Merivale), 10 (Gloucester-Southgate), 12 (Rideau-Vanier), 14 (Somerset), 18 (Alta Vista), 21 (Rideau-Jock), and 22 (Riverside South-Findlay Creek), with voters electing the very first councillor for the newly-created ward 24 (Barrhaven East).

Here are some of the ward races to watch on Monday night.

Ward 14: Somerset

• 2018 municipal election voter turnout: 39.1 per cent
• Projected 2022 population: 48,587
• Projected 2026 population: 51,438

The ward at the heart of the capital is in the spotlight nationally and it has no incumbent because Coun. Catherine McKenney is seeking the mayor’s seat.

Somerset Ward, being the ward that contains Parliament Hill and Centretown, was the ward most affected by February’s “Freedom Convoy” protest. An inquiry into the federal government’s use of the Emergencies Act is ongoing and opened with testimony from residents of the ward.

Three names are on the ballot: Stuart MacKay, Brandon Russell, and Ariel Troster.

Troster announced her intention to run as soon as McKenney said they were running for mayor. Troster, who has 20 years of experience as a communications and policy specialists in organizations including the Public Service Alliance of Canada and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, has secured McKenney’s endorsement.

MacKay has worked as a campaign manager and policy advisor and describes himself as a historian, writer, community activist and public transit advocate.

Russell is a political strategist who is currently on leave as vice president of the Ottawa-Vanier Federal Liberal Association. He has run more than 30 political campaigns across Canada and the U.S. for nine different parties.

Ward 24: Barrhaven East

• Projected 2022 population: 52,580
• Projected 2026 population: 53,215

Ottawa’s newest ward is a blank slate, having been created in advance of this election.

With the seat open, there are seven names on the ballot, which means a smaller number of votes is needed to come in first place.

Voter turnout in Barrhaven in 2018 was 42.71 per cent, roughly in line with the city-wide average of 42.55 per cent, but it remains unclear what cutting the riding in half will do to turnout on Monday. About 1,500 voters in Barrhaven East cast ballots in the two advance polling days on Oct. 7 and 14, compared to 2,100 in Barrhaven West.

Ward 3: Barrhaven West

• 2018 municipal election voter turnout: 42.71 per cent
• Projected 2022 population: 47,253
• Projected 2026 population: 53,615

Barrhaven has been split into two wards and longtime Barrhaven councillor Jan Harder is not seeking re-election.

In Barrhaven West, there are four candidates running for council: Jay Chadha, Sadaf Ebrahim, David Hill and Taayo Simmonds.

Simmonds and Hill made recent headlines after Simmonds shared a video on social media depicting a man removing Simmonds’s election materials from a resident’s door and replacing it with Hill’s. Simmonds contended it was Hill himself who did it.

Hill admitted to doing it, calling it a “lapse in judgment.”

Simmonds, a managing lawyer at Simmonds Law and founder of Domus Legal Inc., is a first-time candidate for city council. Hill also says he has no prior political experience. He is a 25-year veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces.

Chadha is a 20-year OC Transpo employee and has been president of the Barrhaven East Community Association. Ebrahim did not respond to CTV News Ottawa’s candidate questionnaire.

Ward 12: Rideau-Vanier

• 2018 municipal election voter turnout: 37.54 per cent
• Projected 2022 population: 50,330
• Projected 2026 population: 52,228

Voters in Rideau-Vanier have the most populated ballot for councillor, with 10 candidates seeking the seat being vacated by Coun. Mathieu Fleury, who announced he would not be seeking re-election.

The 10 people seeking to become the next councillor for Ward 12 are Patrick Auguste, Hicham Boutaleb, Tyler Cybulski, Burthomley Douzable, Julie Fiala, Jwane Izzetpanah, Kim Leclerc, Alex Osorio, Stéphanie Plante, and Laura Shantz.

Voter turnout in the ward in 2018 was 37.54 per cent, below the city-wide average for 42.55 per cent, and with 10 names on the list, every vote will count for each candidate.

Ward 4: Kanata North

• 2018 municipal election voter turnout: 48.21 per cent
• Projected 2022 population: 49,187
• Projected 2026 population: 54,819

Kanata North has an incumbent candidate, but it will be her first test before voters.

Cathy Curry was appointed as the councillor for Ward 4 in November 2021, after the elected councillor Jenna Sudds became the Liberal MP for Kanata-Carleton in the September 2021 federal election.

Twelve councillors selected Curry, a former Ottawa-Carleton District School Board chair, from among a list of 24 potential names seeking to fill the seat.

Of those 24, only one, Christine Moulaison, is running for another chance. Viorel Copil is the third name on the three-person ballot for Kanata North councillor.

Copil, a chartered professional accountant, works as a project manager for the federal government, and has served as the chief financial management advisor for the Canada Border Services Agency.

Moulaison also has extensive school board experience in the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board’s Parent Involvement Committee and as co-chair of the Ottawa Carleton Assembly of School Councils. She is also vice president of the Briarbrook Brookside Morgan's Grant Community Association.

Ward 17: Capital

• 2018 municipal election voter turnout: 52.13 per cent
• Projected 2022 population: 42,091
• Projected 2026 population: 43,115

Will incumbent councillor Shawn Menard keep his Capital Ward seat?

Menard was elected in 2018 with 28 per cent of the vote on a five-name ballot, defeating incumbent David Chernushenko by 605 votes. The second-place finisher, Christine McAllister, was just 377 votes behind Menard. The ward had the highest turnout among all 23 wards in 2018 at 52.13 per cent, nearly 10 points above the city-wide average of 42.55 per cent.

In the time since he was elected, he became one of the most vocal opponents of outgoing mayor Jim Watson and his political allies, frequently clashing with the mayor and other councillors at meetings and on social media. During this campaign, he has been fiercely opposed to mayoral candidate Mark Sutcliffe, supporting Somerset Ward Coun. Catherine McKenney for mayor.

Menard is facing two opponents in 2022, Rebecca Bromwich and Daniel Rogers.

Bromwich, a lawyer, is running a campaign that appears to be aimed directly at Menard, citing combativeness and dysfunction during the last term of council. She vows to bring “creative problem solving” to the council table if elected.

In September, Bromwich found herself the subject of social media ire for posting a picture of a gelato from Stella Luna on Twitter, saying, “it’s high time for healing and inclusion in Capital Ward.” Critics pointed to owner Tammy Giuliani’s $250 donation to a “Freedom Convoy” crowdfund and her appearance on Fox News to discuss the backlash. Giuliani’s name appeared in a leaked list of donors on the GiveSendGo platform and she became the target of numerous threats after the information was made public.

Bromwich deleted the post and said Stella Luna deserved a chance to make amends.

Rogers did not respond to CTV News Ottawa’s candidate questionnaire.