Jim Watson Is Back: THE VOTER

05/16/2023

Former mayor Jim Watson re-appeared in Ottawa to help open a community centre in Laroche Park.

Interesting that he is attending this event in Ottawa Centre because speculation has it that he is eyeing that riding if Yasir Naqvi, the current MP, moves into the provincial sphere to run for the Liberal leadership.

There’s nothing conclusive in this event other than it is one more brick in the wall of information on Watson.

This from long-time great Bulldog commenter, The Voter:

Hi Ken,

It seems that former mayor Jim Watson has not withdrawn from city goings-on.

The picture and caption below are from Kitchissippi Councillor Jeff Leiper’s newsletter. Maybe the task was just too big for Mayor Mark Sutcliffe to manage on his own and he had to call on the ex-mayor to assist. Can we expect to see his former-worship popping up all over the place to hold the current mayor’s hand? How much is he doing behind the scenes with Sutcliffe?

Tag-A-Bag Garbage Cure Worse Than The Disease

The facility being opened is in Laroche Park just off Bayview Drive in Mechanicsville and is part of upgrading the whole park.

Our hopes and dreams of a post-Watson world have been dashed. I suppose he thought that keeping himself in the background for six months would clear the slate and he could start reintroducing himself now. He will no doubt claim that he was involved in the decision to renovate the park and so should be part of the re-opening. Does that mean anything he voted on over 12 years that wasn’t finished when he left will be graced by his presence at official events? That’s a pretty depressing thought.

The Voter

Keith Brown was surrounded by family, neighbours and friends on Saturday for the official unveiling of the community building named for him. My thanks to Mayor Sutcliffe and former Mayor Watson for joining us, along with many of the staff who worked on this challenging, multiple-department project.