Carol Anne Meehan scores upset in Gloucester-South Nepean
CBC News | Posted: October 23, 2018 1:13 AM | Last Updated: October 23, 2018
Former TV news anchor focuses on traffic issues to oust incumbent
Carol Anne Meehan will represent the ward of Gloucester-South Nepean for the next four years.
The former television news anchor won 42.5 per cent of the vote, ousting incumbent Michael Qaqish with 38.7 per cent.
Qaqish was first elected in 2014.
Speaking to her supporters, Meehan said she was overwhelmed by the victory and grateful to all those who had helped.
"I would never have envisioned I would be here tonight surrounded by so many friends and supporters and people who just believed in me," she said. "They have entrusted me with their future, because we are such a big and growing ward and we have so much to do."
Meehan said her platform, which focused on traffic issues in her ward, resonated with constituents.
"It was a platform that people lived every day, and that is the commute … a commute that is getting longer and longer," she told CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning Tuesday. "That's the first thing people talked to me about at the door."
Meehan said she is ready to support a free transit pilot program on certain routes such as Bank Street. The idea was first proposed by Capital ward winner Shawn Menard.
The city clerk is expected to declare the official results by Thursday.
The five candidates were:
- Zaff Ansari
- Carol Anne Meehan
- Irene Mei
- Michael Qaqish (incumbent)
- Harpreet Singh