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| Affiliation | Liberal |
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| Name | Bob Chiarelli |
| Address |
Ottawa, Ontario , Canada |
| Email | None |
| Website | [Link] |
| Born |
September 24, 1941
(82 years)
|
| Contributor | RP |
| Last Modifed | Monsieur
Oct 23, 2006 07:58pm |
| Tags |
Italian -
|
| Info | Robert (Bob) Chiarelli (born September 24, 1941 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) is the current (2006) mayor of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. His term runs until November 2006.
Chiarelli was raised in the Little Italy area of Ottawa near Preston Street. His parents were wealthy entrepreneurs owning a number of stores in the neighbourhood. Robert was the youngest of their seven children. Chiarelli was an excellent hockey player in high school and attended Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York, on a hockey scholarship. He received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree, and then returned to Ottawa to attend the University of Ottawa law school. He began his legal practice in 1969, specializing in corporate law.
Chiarelli became a noted lawyer and businessman in the Ottawa area before entering politics in 1980. He served for seven years on the National Capital Commission before running for the Ontario provincial legislature in the 1987 provincial election.
Chiarelli ran as a candidate of the Liberal Party of Ontario and was easily elected in Ottawa West, which had previously been regarded as a safe Progressive Conservative seat. He was not included in the cabinet of David Peterson, though he served as the parliamentary assistant to the Chair of the Management Board in 1987-88. Chiarelli was re-elected in the provincial elections of 1990 and 1995, though by narrower margins against his Progressive Conservative opponents. Chiarelli endorsed Dalton McGuinty's bid to lead the Ontario Liberal Party in 1996 {Canada NewsWire, 19 August 1996).
He resigned his seat in 1997, after his wife Carol died following a long battle with cancer on December 27, 1996, leaving behind three children. His cousin, Rick Chiarelli, unsuccessfully attempted to succeed him in the 1999 provincial election.
In 1997, Robert Chiarelli was elected as Regional Chair of Ottawa-Carleton. For the next three years, he argued in favour of eliminating the region's "two-tiered" government, and amalgamating the regional municipalities into a single city. The provincial government of Mike Harris did this in 2000, and Chiarelli declared himself a candidate to become the first mayor of the amalgamated city of Ottawa.
Chiarelli was elected as the first mayor of the newly amalgamated city of Ottawa on November 13, 2000, and was re-elected on November 10, 2003.
During the 2006 election, he is running against two main opponents : former Kanata councillor Alex Munter, and Calian chairman Larry O'Brien. Ottawa 67's coach Brian Kilrea's nephew Terry was also running for the position, but withdrew on August 30, 2006 notably because he was taking votes away from Chiarelli, preventing him from defeating Munter, a left-wing candidate. Kilrea decided to support the incumbent for the remainder of the campaign.
His main project is the expension of the city's light-rail system which a north-south line would run from Barrhaven to downtown Ottawa starting in 2009. His opponents in the election, Munter and O'Brien, criticized him for precipitating the project too quickly, without proper information and consultation. Opponents also criticised him for keeping some important details of the project in secrecy.
Treasury Board John Baird reviewed the project in October 2006, and concluded that he will keep the federal funding in place on a provision basis. The incoming council will decide its final status. Baird and Chiarelli have accused one another of lying about details of the project.
Chiarelli also had plans to improve the east end of the city. He introduced a 10-point revitalization plan that would include attracting more jobs and businesses east of the Rideau River in order to improve its economic development. He also plans to build new roads to improve connections between Orleans and the south end of the city. Also, he promised to spend on expanded the existing bike trail system with additionnal trails connecting suburban and rural areas of Ottawa.
In a recent survey conducted by UniMarketing during the week of October 13, 2006, Chiarelli placed second with an 11-point percentage deficit on Munter but had a three-point avantage over O'Brien among the most likely to vote.
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