Eight councillors — who together have served for a total of 137 years on municipal and regional governments — bid farewell Wednesday at a laughter-and-tear-filled meeting at Ottawa City Hall.
In speeches short and long, they thanked their families, assistants, city officials and residents for help and support along the way. Each was also presented with a framed picture of a city landmark that is meaningful to them personally.
Here are their parting gifts — and some of their parting words.
Rainer Bloess, Innes
Elected to Gloucester council in 1994; elected to Ottawa city council in 2000
Rainer Bloess: Petrie Island
“I look at the future for this city and I think it’s a solid future . . . our forefathers put together a foundation that we’ve been building on. LRT is one of those building blocks, Lansdowne is a building block, what we’re doing to the river, those are all building blocks.”
Peter Clark, Rideau-Rockcliffe
Elected mayor of the Township of Cumberland (1980-1989) and chair of the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton (1991-1997); elected to Ottawa city council in 2010
Peter Clark: Stanley Park
“This council deserves a lot of congratulations for the work it accomplished and for the way it got accomplished. A lot of people say there wasn’t enough fire and brimstone during meetings. Frankly, that’s not necessarily the way you get things done.”
Steve Desroches, Gloucester-South Nepean
Elected in 2006
Steve Desroches: Vimy Memorial Bridge
“I’ve always stood tall for my community. We all can’t live in the Greenbelt. We need to continue to serve the infrastructure needs of these existing communities and we shouldn’t malign it and call it ‘sprawl.’ I do not live in sprawl. I live in a very healthy, vibrant, dynamic community that is going to need the city’s support.”
Katherine Hobbs, Kitchissippi
Elected in 2010
Katherine Hobbs: Winston Park, Richmond Road
“This four years has been an incredible opportunity and adventure, and allowed me the opportunity to make a mark on the city, and I’m very proud of that.”
Diane Holmes, Somerset
Elected to Wellington ward in 1982 and to the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton (1994-2000); elected to Ottawa city council in 2003
Diane Holmes: Corktown Bridge, Rideau Canal
“It has been a wonderful 30 years . . . I couldn’t have done it without my staff, who are wonderful and who have supported me. You certainly can’t do this work without a great office staff.”
Peter Hume, Alta Vista
Elected in 1991 to former Ottawa city council and to the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton (1994-2000); elected to Ottawa city council in 2000
Peter Hume: Aberdeen Pavilion, Lansdowne
“This job never lets you get away. You’re trying to get off a cruise ship and get to a beach and (members of the legal department are) saying, ‘You’ve got to get to some Wi-Fi because we need your input.’ Well, your wife goes to the beach and you go off to find some Wi-Fi so that you can keep connected, and they don’t get angry, they’re just supportive because they know that’s what you want to do.”
Maria McRae, River
Elected in 2003
Maria McRae: Pedestrian bridge, Airport parkway
“A little bit of advice to the incoming councillors: Remember how you got here, that the residents put you here . . . they’re your bosses. When they call, you listen; when they invite you to come to a meeting, you go. That’s the No. 1 job.”
Doug Thompson
Elected councillor for the Township of Osgoode (1982-1997) and mayor (1997-2000); elected to Ottawa city council in 2000
Doug Thompson: Osgoode Link Pathway, Mitch Owens road
“My decision to retire after 31 years was probably one of the most difficult decisions I had to make, yet I know that the time is right . . . I will forever be indebted to all of those who have shown their support to me in these last few months, which have been a bit difficult for me to pull the plug and move away because I’ve enjoyed this work so much.”
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