(Posted 8 a.m., July 20)
Race to replace Bob Monette attracts diverse field
By Fred Sherwin
OrleansOnline.ca

If you’re a resident of Orléans Ward, you can expect to see a steady stream of would-be city council candidates come to your door over the next three months. That’s because incumbent Bob Monette is stepping away from politics after nearly 15 years on the job, throwing the door wide open for a potential successor.

IAt last count, no fewer that seven people have registered to run in the ward and it’s not even August yet.

The current list of rather diverse nominees includes a restauranteur and industrial kitchen consultant; a catering chef; a professional saxophonist and networking consultant; a member of the Convent Glen - Orléans Wood Community Association; an assistant to the parliamentary secretary for National Defence; a consultant with a government relations firm; a telecommunications project manager; and the owner of a local junior hockey team.

Miranda Gray was the first person to put her name forward. In fact, she registered for the election before Monette made it official he was stepping down.

Gray is a project manager with a Québec-based telecommunications com-pany called IP4B. Other than that, there isn’t a whole lot of information about Gray on the Internet.

Mireille Brownhill is the treasurer with the Convent Glen - Orleans Wood Community Association. The mother of three boys is also a member of the organization Parents for French, and she’s a vocal advocate for social justice. She also happens to be one of the few candidates who already has a campaign website. You can find it at www.mireillebrownhill.ca.

The other candidate with his own website – although it is not campaign specific yet – is Jarrod Goldsmith.

A professional saxophone player, Goldsmith is also a motivational speak- er and an entrepre-neurial coach. He is easily recognizable by his trademark fedora and has been a member of Orléans Chamber of Commerce board of directors for several terms.

In announcing his candidacy on July 11, Goldsmith said he wants to bring honest transparency and an unselfish desire to make life better for others to the job of city councillor.

Qamar Masood is the president of the Multicultural Association of Orléans and he runs his own catering company. He was also a contestant on Chopped Canada.

In April of last year, Masood received the Mayor’s City Builder Award for hav-ing volunteered for more than 20 years in the city’s Pakistani community. According to the citation, he is a strong advo-cate on behalf of the multicultural community of Orléans on matters affecting rights, interests and values that are consistent with the mainstream community. He has also developed and promoted programs that focus on “advancing education as social and culturally relevant attributes of the families that make up the community of Orléans”.

Doug Feltmate is part owner of St. Martha’s Brasserie and its sister restaur-ant St. Martha’s Culinaire. He also owns his own restaurant equipment consultant company. But it is his interest in eco- nomic development, especially in the east end, that has motivated him to run for council. He’s also managed to put together a strong campaign team that includes former chief of staff to one-time Ottawa mayor Bob Chiarelli, Brendan McGuinty. He’s also receiving guidance from former Ottawa city councillor Graham Bird and former Ottawa mayor Jim Durrell among others.

Feltmate was also a former chair of Team Ottawa-Orléans from 2005-2011 and he’s been an active member of both the Heart of Orléans BIA and the Orléans Chamber of Commerce.

The rest of field running in Orléans Ward is rounded out by Rick Bédard, the owner of the Cumberland Bandits Junior C hockey team; Kevin Tetrault, a consultant with the Capital Hill Group; and Mathew Lultoff, an assistant to the parliamentary secretary for National Defence.

The Orléans Star will be running separate profiles on all the candidates beginning in August.

(This story was made possible thanks to the generous support of our local business partners.)