No heroes as Jim Watson, Alex Cullen bicker over transit records
Twitter spat over transit track record bottoms out with 70s TV show put-down
Ottawa's mayor was in a feisty mood Tuesday evening, going after the city's former transit chair Alex Cullen over his track record on bus fares and labour relations.
- OC Transpo fare freeze idea 'far fetched', Watson says
- Don't fret over 2016 OC Transpo hike, Blais says
Cullen, a former city councillor and mayoral candidate, chaired Ottawa's transit committee — now the transit commission — through the bitter bus strike that dragged on for more than 50 days in the winter of 2008-09.
The online spat began when current transit commission chair Stephen Blais dredged up that event, as well as OC Transpo fare hikes that occurred during Cullen's tenure, in a Twitter rant.
You know <a href="https://twitter.com/EvanLSolomon">@EvanLSolomon</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Alex_S_Cullen">@Alex_S_Cullen</a> chaired transit commission that raised fares 7.5% a year for 3 years straight 13% for express
—@StephenBlaisOh and <a href="https://twitter.com/EvanLSolomon">@EvanLSolomon</a> Mr. <a href="https://twitter.com/Alex_S_Cullen">@Alex_S_Cullen</a> was transit chairman during worst bus strike in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ottcity?src=hash">#ottcity</a> history
—@StephenBlaisA few hours later, the mayor decided to pile on.
My old colleague Alex Cullen got a clubbing by <a href="https://twitter.com/StephenBlais">@StephenBlais</a> on Alex's tenure as OC Transpo Chair - longest strike; biggest fare hikes!
—@JimWatsonOttawaThe former councillor defended his reputation, and aimed the criticism right back at Watson.
<a href="https://twitter.com/JimWatsonOttawa">@JimWatsonOttawa</a> FYI: Mayor OBrien led City on bus strike (not me); I didnt vote for every bus fare hike. Yr record: hikes yearly, abve infl
—@Alex_S_CullenThe mayor then put on his trolling hat.
<a href="https://twitter.com/Alex_S_Cullen">@Alex_S_Cullen</a> you must remember Sgt. Schultz from hogan's heroes and his famous line "I know nothing!" you were chair during strike!!
—@JimWatsonOttawa
Cullen again took the bait, but stuck to a straightforward defence.
<a href="https://twitter.com/JimWatsonOttawa">@JimWatsonOttawa</a> Sure I was Transit Chair, but strike strategy was Mayor OBrien's. You milked that well in 2010. But these 6 yrs are yours.
—@Alex_S_CullenThe mayor was adamant on having the last word, though.
<a href="https://twitter.com/Alex_S_Cullen">@Alex_S_Cullen</a> and of course "your" plan didn't account for inflation(oops!) and we had to revamp plan and depth to bring it in on budget!
—@JimWatsonOttawa<a href="https://twitter.com/Alex_S_Cullen">@Alex_S_Cullen</a> and someone also reminded me you were the cheerleader to kill the first lrt plan that cost us tens of millions and years!!
—@JimWatsonOttawaThat's when Cullen decided to take the high road on light rail.
<a href="https://twitter.com/JimWatsonOttawa">@JimWatsonOttawa</a> Yup. Original NS plan had tracks running thru downtown, not under. You are implementing better plan 2 elections later.
—@Alex_S_CullenWhen it comes to fare hikes, it's hard to lay the blame on any one politician.
In 2006, a regular OC Transpo adult fare was $3.00. A decade later, that will jump to $3.65.
That's a 25 per cent fare increase over the last decade. Watson has been mayor for six of those years. Coun. Diane Deans chaired the transit commission for four years. Blais took over after the 2014 election.
So which politician is to blame for rising transit fares? There's no clear answer. And as with most Twitter battles, this one produced no heroes.