Shad Qadri seems poised for another term

Popular city councillor has only one opponent — Dave Lee — writes Don Butler.

Shad Qadri has an electoral record that’s the envy of almost any politician: The two-term city councillor for Stittsville ward has twice steamrollered his opponents, collecting an almost inconceivable 91.5 per cent of the vote in 2010.

In this election, Qadri came within 24 hours of being acclaimed, thwarted only by the last-minute entry of Dave Lee, a 47-year old businessman who has lived in Stittsville since 1996.

Even Lee was a reluctant candidate. “I was hoping someone else would step up and run,” he told the website StittsvilleCentral.ca.

Lee, who supports fiscal conservative Mike Maguire for mayor, was motivated to enter by the results of a damning audit of the city’s 20-year contract with Orgaworld. The contract obliges the city to pay Orgaworld to process 80,000 tonnes of organic waste a year, even though the actual amount collected has never approached that level.

Qadri — facing a single opponent for the third straight election — is genial and well-liked, but hasn’t made a huge impression during his eight years on city council.

He doesn’t make waves and routinely supports positions favoured by Mayor Jim Watson. Lee describes him as one of Watson’s “yes men.”

In the past two years, he’s also been lobbied 164 times by developers and businesses, making him one of the most-lobbied politicians on city council, according to figures presented by ottwatch.ca. (Among councillors running for re-election, only Kitchissippi’s Katherine Hobbs and College ward veteran Rick Chiarelli were lobbied more often.)

But apart from the Carp Road Landfill, whose expansion Qadri opposed, there have been few major controversies in the ward. And he appears to have done a solid job of addressing the ward concerns that have arisen.

Still, he is taking nothing for granted. Qadri’s campaign kickoff attracted nearly 100 people, including such notables as Orléans Coun. Bob Monette and Cyril Leeder, president of the Ottawa Senators.

Lee can only hope for Qadri fatigue among voters. Otherwise, another landslide could be in the cards for the 62-year-old incumbent.

The Citizen asked municipal candidates to name the two most important issues in their ward and their top priority if elected ( below).