Mayoral hopefuls make their pitch

A record 20 candidates are running to be mayor of the City of Ottawa in this year's municipal election.

CBC host Kathleen Petty spoke with three of them on Ottawa Morning: Current mayor Larry O'Brien, former mayor Jim Watson and current Capital Ward councillor Clive Doucet.

And beginning Tuesday, Oct. 5, Ottawa Morning is hosting weekly election debates with the same three candidates, with the first debate looking at taxation.

Fifteen of the 20 people running for mayor also took the time to tell the CBC's Maggie Padlewska why voters should consider them on Oct. 25. Click on the links beside the photos to hear their platforms, in their own words.

Five candidates for mayor were approached to participate but were unavailable for interviews.

They include:

• Vincent Libweshya, a 25-year-old entrepreneur who was born and raised in Nairobi and says he is a distant cousin of U.S. President Barack Obama.
• Sean Ryan, one of the first candidates to register. His website is here.
• Samuel Wright, who says he works and lives in the ByWard market and said Ottawa needs someone in the big chair looking out for the little guy.

No information was available on Robert Larter and Julio Pita.