1988 Ottawa municipal election

The city of Ottawa, Canada held municipal elections on November 14, 1988.

1988 Ottawa mayoral election

← 1985 November 14, 1988 1991 →
 
Candidate Jim Durrell Michael Bartholomew
Popular vote 69,813 4,800
Percentage 86.77% 5.97%

Results by ward

Mayor before election

Jim Durrell

Elected mayor

Jim Durrell

Mayor Jim Durrell was re-elected with little opposition. Rideau Street businessman Michael Bartholomew finished 2nd with just 6% of the vote. Due to the lack of competition, only about one third of the electorate participated in the election.[1]

Mayor

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Candidate Votes %
Jim Durrell (X) 69,813 86.77
Michael Bartholomew 4,800 5.97
John Turmel 3,123 3.88
John Kroeker 1,704 2.12
Nabil Fawzry 1,022 1.27

Plebiscite

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A plebiscite was held asking voters if they supported establishing a single level of municipal government for the urban part of the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton. It was a non binding plebiscite, and was only held in Ottawa. The measure was supported by mayor Durrell.[2] The city would eventually amalgamate with the region in 2001, including the non-urban areas.

The ballot question read "Are you in favour of the City of Ottawa working towards one level of municipal government for the urban area of Ottawa-Carleton?"[3]

Choice Votes[4] %
Yes 64,862 81.11
No 15,102 18.89
 
Plebiscite results by ward. Support was the strongest in Riverside Ward (84.2%) and the weakest in St. George's Ward (76.4%).

City council

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Map of Ottawa's Wards used in this election
1. Alta Vista Ward
2. Billings Ward
3. Britannia Ward
4. By-Rideau Ward
5. Capital Ward
6. Canterbury Ward
7. Carleton Ward
8. Dalhousie Ward
9. Elmdale Ward
10. Overbrook-Forbes Ward
11. Queensboro Ward
12. Richmond Ward
13. Riverside Ward
14. St. George's Ward
15. Wellington Ward .

The composition of Ottawa's city council was more left leaning than the previous council due to the defeat of Durrell-ally Bob Morrison in Carleton Ward and the election of New Democratic Party backed candidates Lynn Smyth and Michael Jannigan.[5] Jannigan, who was declared elected on election night had to wait over a year to take his seat however, as a recount gave his opponent the win, but after the case was taken to court, a special election was held in 1989 which Jannigan won.

Alta Vista Ward
Candidate Votes %
Darrel Kent (X) Acclaimed
Billings Ward
Candidate Votes %
Joan O'Neill (X) 4,170 84.36
Eugene Mallay 773 15.64
Britannia Ward
Candidate Votes %
Jim Jones 1,941* 40.79
Ruth Wildgen (X) 1,931* 40.58
Geoffrey Sharpe 496 10.42
Jenny Lee Lapointe 391 8.22

* Results after a recount.[6]

By-Rideau Ward
Candidate Votes %
Marc Laviolette (X) 4,395 78.11
Les MacAfee 872 15.50
Richard Beaudry 360 6.40
Capital Ward
Candidate Votes %
Lynn Smyth 3,370 56.16
Rob Quinn (X) 2,631 43.84
Canterbury Ward
Candidate Votes %
Michael McSweeney (X) 5,592 76.33
Ernest Lauzon 1,734 23.67
Carleton Ward
Candidate Votes %
Tim Kehoe 2,480 49.03
Bob Morrison (X) 1,378 27.24
Mary Nash 1,200 23.72
Queensboro Ward
Candidate Votes %
Mark Maloney (X) Acclaimed
Dalhousie Ward
Candidate Votes %
Peter Harris 2,024* 46.12
Michael Janigan 2,022* 46.07
Richard Lobb 343 7.81

* Results after a recount.

Elmdale Ward
Candidate Votes %
Jamie Fisher (X) Acclaimed
Overbrook-Forbes Ward
Candidate Votes %
George Kelly (X) Acclaimed
Richmond Ward
Candidate Votes %
Jacquelin Holzman (X) 4,380 52.04
Alex Cullen 2,391 28.41
Daniel Stringer 1,646 19.56
Riverside Ward
Candidate Votes %
George Brown (X) 4,531 85.30
Norman Van Cleaf 781 14.70
St. George's Ward
Candidate Votes %
Nancy Smith (X) 3,757 82.94
Ed Barter 773 17.06
Wellington Ward
Candidate Votes %
Diane Holmes (X) 3,260 80.61
Lindsay Blackett 784 19.39

Special election

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The election day results in Dalhousie Ward showed Michael Janigan ahead by 12 votes over Peter Harris, but this was done in error. A recount gave Harris a 2 vote win, but Janigan took the results to court, so the city held a special election on November 20, 1989 to resolve the matter, which Janigan won. Harris served as alderman in the interim. The race was a proxy battle for federal politics, with Janigan being supported by the NDP and Harris by the Liberals. The fringe candidates were backed by parties too, the Greens backed Dan Roy and the Rhinoceros Party backed Dale Alkerton[7]

Dalhousie Ward
Candidate Votes %
Michael Janigan 2,582 49.07
Peter Harris 2,411 45.82
Dan Roy 227 4.31
Dale Alkerton 45 0.80
Zone 1 (Vanier, Rockcliffe Park, By-Rideau, St. George's, Overbrook-Forbes)
3 to be elected
(79% of polls reporting)
Vote %
Jane Dobell (X) 3,627
Harriet Lang (X) 2,577
Cynthia Bled 2,077
Margaret Pazdzior 1,561
John Stopa 1,268
Gary Hough 1,230
Salah Al Zein 836
Zone 2 (Capital, Wellington)
2 to be elected
(94% of polls reporting)
Vote %
Anne Scotton 3,144
Brian McGarry (X) 2,514
Ruth Coodin 2,064
Don Francis 1,707
Les Jones 1,459
Cecile Smithers 386
Idris Ben-Tahir 261
Zone 3 (Dalhousie, Riverside, Elmdale)
4 to be elected
(98% of polls reporting)
Vote %
Marian Lothian (X) 5,282
Ted Best (X) 4,185
Elda Allen 4,038
Mary Lou Fleming 3,277
Helen Campbell 3,060
William Pugsley 2,753
Dan Berg 2,493
Zone 4 (Britannia, Richmond)
2 to be elected
(95% of polls reporting)
Vote %
Bill Gowling (X) 3,919
Margaret Lange 3,771
Robert Beatty (X) 2,409
Wayne Wilson 2,029
Irma Cohen 1,700
Terry Orchard 831
Robert Morrissette 731
Zone 5 (Carleton, Queensboro)
3 to be elected
(96% of polls reporting)
Vote %
Kathryn Yach (X) 3,891
Brian Mackey 3,472
Linda Hunter 2,629
John Wright 2,101
Margaret Bristow 1,468
Geoff Brown 1,460
Kevin Kinsella 1,302
Zone 6 (Alta Vista, Billings, Canterbury)
4 to be elected
(95% of polls reporting)
Vote %
Russ Jackson (X) 5,373
Marjorie Loughrey (X) 5,273
John Sutherland 4,393
Roy Bushfield 3,905
Rosalind Labow 2,896
Linda Townsend 2,831
Sue Mack 2,412
David Gibbons 2,041
Gordon Campbell 1,625
Jeannine Ladouceur 990
Donald Holmes 827

References

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  • Ottawa Citizen, November 15, 1988
  1. ^ Ottawa Citizen, November 15, 1988, pg C1, "Ottawa's Durrell cruises to easy victory"
  2. ^ "Super-city a big winner with Ottawa voters". Ottawa Citizen. November 15, 1988. p. 2. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  3. ^ "Should tiers of government be shed?". Ottawa Citizen. November 3, 1988. p. 27. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  4. ^ Official results
  5. ^ Ottawa Citizen, November 15, 1988, pg C1, "New faces tilt Ottawa to left"
  6. ^ Ottawa Citizen, November 29, 1988, pg C1, "Janigan demands judicial recount"
  7. ^ Ottawa Citizen, November 21, 1989, pg C1, "Janigan wins"