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<\/p>\nMark Sutcliffe told supporters at his victory party on Monday to soak in the celebrations, because the work begins right away.<\/p>\n
As he heads back to the mayor’s office for another four-year term, Sutcliffe has promises to keep, a new council to lead and a multibillion-dollar budget to work out.<\/p>\n
“The campaign is over. Now it’s time to get back to protecting affordability, to get back to strengthening our local economy, to get back to improving our quality of life,” he said in his victory speech. “It’s time to get back to work.”<\/p>\n
But it won’t be easy. Sutcliffe is likely to face familiar headaches and new challenges as he tries to carry out his agenda. Here are five that could define the next four years.<\/p>\n
WATCH | The road to 2030:<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what\u2019s ahead as Mark Sutcliffe returns for another 4 years as mayor<\/p>\n
From deciding which councillors will lead committees to getting started on campaign promises, the CBC\u2019s Arthur White-Crummey says Sutcliffe has a long list of tasks ahead.Holding council together<\/p>\n
Sutcliffe has prided himself on bringing a once fractious council together, restoring some semblance of a working relationship between urban, suburban and rural councillors with very different priorities. <\/p>\n
He’s confident he can do it again, especially with so many familiar faces at the table. But a council of many veterans and few rookies could bring its own set of challenges.<\/p>\n
Two of the three departing councillors were chairs of powerful committees. Those are sought-after jobs that preside over meetings and set the agenda on key files like transit and planning. Other chair positions could also change hands after the new council meets in mid-November.<\/p>\n
Strong mayor powers give Sutcliffe the right to simply appoint the chairs. He didn’t do that after the 2022 election<\/a>, instead leading a committee to divvy up the posts and put them to a council vote.<\/p>\n Back then, they were able to spread the goods around \u2014 rewarding not only allies but also opponents to build bridges. Rookies don’t expect to chair committees, but most veteran councillor got something out of the deal.<\/p>\n But this time \u2014 with 21 councillors coming back \u2014 that will be harder to manage. Sutcliffe, or his committee, will have to pick winners and losers. How he does it could set the tone for the coming term.<\/p>\n Paying for his promises <\/p>\n Sutcliffe made more than 200 promises in his election platform. That includes freezing recreation fees, boosting police funding and cutting the cost of a monthly adult transit pass to $95.<\/p>\n Those commitments will need to find their way into the 2027 budget, which must be tabled before February.<\/p>\n There will only be so much money to pay for them. Sutcliffe has promised to hold tax hikes to at most 2.5 per cent for two years, below the rate of inflation. Meanwhile, rising costs and salaries are cutting into the bottom line. And the city’s isn’t allowed to pass a deficit budget. It has to balance the books.<\/p>\n Some of the biggest pressures will come at OC Transpo. Council has balanced the transit budget each year on paper by assuming the federal and provincial governments will come to the rescue. <\/p>\n So far, they haven’t. And with ridership still coming in well below expectations, the end-of-year numbers have repeatedly landed in the red.<\/p>\n Turning around OC Transpo <\/p>\n The headaches that come from Ottawa’s beleaguered transit system aren’t likely to stop at its finances.<\/p>\n Sutcliffe was hoping to see the long-delayed LRT extension to Orl\u00e9ans well on its way to a final stage of testing by now. But the key stage of pre-trial running was pushed back during the election campaign and isn’t expected to start until next month.<\/p>\n Sutcliffe and OC Transpo will have to turn their attention to the west end. There, questions remain about how severe damage wrought by the Canada Day storm will affect the opening date \u2014 and cost \u2014 of an extension to Moodie station.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, OC Transpo still doesn’t have a final answer to what’s going wrong inside a key component of the trains.<\/a><\/p>\n
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