Nussbaum confirms NCC appointment; defeated rival candidate says he'll run in Rideau-Rockcliffe byelection
Andrew Duffy, Ottawa Citizen
Updated: December 13, 2018
Tobi Nussbaum confirmed Thursday evening he is leaving Ottawa City Hall to become the new chief executive officer of the National Capital Commission.
After dodging rumour-stoked reporters all day, the councillor for Rideau-Rockcliffe released a statement just after 6 p.m. saying he begins his new duties as CEO of the Crown corporation on Feb. 4.
“Accepting this position means that I will need to step down as councillor for Rideau-Rockliffe before I undertake my new responsibilities,” he wrote. “It has been the greatest privilege of my professional life to represent the many neighbourhoods of our ward and to meet and interact with the thousands of committed, thoughtful and caring citizens who reside there.”
He said his top priority in the coming weeks would be to ensure a smooth transition to a new ward representative.
In appointing Nussbaum to a four-year term, a news release from the Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez spoke of his record of public service.
“I am confident that Mr. Nussbaum shares that passion, and will work diligently to ensure that the National Capital Region remains a livable, vibrant city for residents and continues to welcome visitors from across the country and around the world.”
The move is a somewhat bumpy one. Not only is the councillor being criticized for an ambitious job-swap weeks after re-election, but he takes on an agency dealing with its own drama with the death-bed status of the $4-billion redevelopment of LeBreton Flats and an ethical misstep surrounding departing CEO Mark Kristmanson.
The immediate reaction from council colleagues was positive.
Mayor Jim Watson quickly tweeted out his congratulations. “I wish Tobi the best of luck in his new endeavour, and I look forward to working with him at the @NCC_CCN Board to deliver on city-building initiatives like the LeBreton Flats redevelopment,” wrote Watson, also an NCC board member.
Kitchissippi Coun. Jeff Leiper said he was “thrilled” for Nussbaum.
“Tobi has a progressive vision for a better, sustainable city, and I wish him the best in his new role. He leaves a hole in Council, but his leadership will be even more felt as the steward of some of our Capital’s most important resources.”
In the short term, attention will turn to filling his council seat. Defeated candidate Peter Heyck has already announced he will seek to replace Nussbaum, who leaves city hall after four years for a bigger office just down Elgin Street.
Nussbaum’s decision to leave — less than two months into his four-year term — caught many political observers by surprise, including Heyck.
“Good for him (Nussbaum) for taking this step, but it’s too bad that he appears to have been shopping around for a better job. He was probably aware of this possibility when the election was called,” said Heyck, 44, Nussbaum’s only challenger in the October election.
Nussbaum was re-elected in a landslide, with 82 per cent of the vote.
Heyck, who works in the logistics department at Canadian Blood Services, called the timing of Nussbaum’s move a disappointment: “It’s too bad that if there is a byelection, the residents of Ottawa are going to have to foot the bill. It does seem to be a bit of a waste of time and money.”
That process is set out in Ontario’s Municipal Act, which gives the city two options when a councillor’s seat becomes vacant due to a resignation, disqualification or death.
After formally declaring his seat vacant, city council can either appoint a person through a vote of council to serve out the term, or hold a byelection within three months.
Council will almost certainly opt for the latter, but that will cost taxpayers in excess of $350,000.
Council resignations and municipal by-elections are not unknown in Ottawa.
In January 2006, Bob Monette was elected in an Orléans byelection to replace Herb Kreling, who stepped down to become a justice of the peace. Monette served 10 months before being re-elected in the November 2006 general election.
Longtime Rideau-Rockcliffe councillor Jacques Legendre said Thursday that he won’t criticize Nussbaum for leaving city hall to become head of the NCC.
“He’s undoubtedly going to face some criticism on that, but I wouldn’t blame him a whole lot,” said Legendre, a former National Research Council physicist who served as a municipal politician for 19 years.
Legendre said Nussbaum is a good communicator who takes a serious, professional approach to municipal affairs.
“I think he would be a very suitable candidate for the NCC job: It’s very difficult job, but I think he’s up to the mark.”
City council has almost no choice but to call an byelection, he added, since it’s so early in the new mandate. “I don’t think it’s unseemly at all to call for a byelection: I think that’s the only option that council really has.”
Legendre said he has no interest in a return to politics.
City councillor v. NCC chief executive officer
Annual salary: $99,647 vs. $179,000 — $210,800
Term length: Four years vs. five years
Voting power: One of 23 councillors and mayor vs. one of 15 NCC board members
Annual budget: $3.42 billion vs. $136 million
Overall Staff: 17,131 vs. 440
Capital Assets: The NCC owns land and buildings valued at $1.7 billion, including 535 square kilometres of land, which makes up about 10 per cent of the National Capital Region; its assets include 400 kilometres of pathways, 23 parks, 145 bridges, 1,700 properties, and six official residences
The city owns major infrastructure with a replacement value of more than $26 billion, including 5,300 kilometres of roadway, 569 bridges, and 783 structures, including fire halls, police stations, libraries and recreation centres.
https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local...eau-rockcliffe
Prev
all the rest of the climbing gyms in this city are super inaccessible unless you drive.
Linear Mode
