Rick Chiarelli
Encyclopedia
Richard "Rick" Chiarelli is a politician in Ontario
, Canada
. He is currently an Ottawa City Council
lor, and the second cousin of former Ottawa mayor Bob Chiarelli
. He represents the College Ward
covering part of Nepean
and Ottawa's west end.
Rick Chiarelli began to speak at hundreds of schools and the Ontario Students Alliance for Fair Funding (OSAFF) quickly grew to over 70,000 members across Ontario.
OSAFF launched a legal challenge against the Provincial Government’s treatment of separate schools and convinced Ian Scott, a prominent Canadian lawyer, to represent them in court. The action was timed to coincide with the visit to the Premier by Pope John Paul II. The court imposed deadlines on the Province to file its full defense to the action. As a result, Premier Bill Davis announced a change in the Province’s century old policy and granted full funding to separate schools. The case was unanimously won by OSAFF 9-0 at the Supreme Court of Canada.
During OSAFF’s legal challenge, Rick Chiarelli ran for school trustee of the school board and won. This resulted in Rick Chiarelli becoming the youngest ever elected.
In 1988, he was elected to the Nepean City Council for the Borden ward. He was re-elected to Nepean council in 1994 in the newly created Nepean Centre Ward.
In 1996-97 when popular Mayor Ben Franklin became ill, Chiarelli served as Acting Mayor briefly. Franklin's sudden retirement in 1997, brought on by health problems, left Chiarelli
as an obvious front-runner to succeed Franklin as Mayor. However, he opted not to seek the Mayoralty and instead sought re-election to his ward seat. He was re-elected to that position by acclamation.
The 2000 municipal election was the first for the newly amalgamated City of Ottawa. Rick Chiarelli, who had been a leading opponent of amalgamation, faced long-time Councillor Al Loney in what was thought would be one of the tightest election battles of the year. Ultimately Chiarelli prevailed in a landslide and became Councillor for Baseline Ward. In 2003 Chiarelli was re-elected by acclamation. In 2006, after ward boundary changes, Chiarelli faced a strong challenge from cycling activist Brett Delmage in the race for Councillor of College Ward. Chiarelli won by a surprisingly wide plurality, securing 73% of the votes.
Rick Chiarelli was a driving force in the revitalization of Lansdowne Park and the creation of the Centrepointe Town Centre series of projects. He is known as a lifelong devotee to the Nepean "Pay-As-You-Go" system of municipal finance which was championed by former Nepean Mayor Ben Franklin and led that city out of debt while keeping taxes at inflation. Chiarelli received an award from a provincial Library body for work done under his chairmanship during the amalgamation of the city's public library systems.
Rick Chiarelli is a second cousin of former Mayor Bob Chiarelli but the two often disagreed on matters of policy.
At the beginning of the campaign, Nepean residents were strongly opposed to amalgamation, but the public opinion polls showed that over 80% of the residents inside of the previous city of Ottawa supported the growth of the city boundaries. Nepean held a referendum that resulted in over 84% of the residents opposing the amalgamation. The city council from Nepean and Kanata joined to create a proposal to merge the two cities. This would lead to a three-city model (western, core and eastern cities) for the capital region, without having to resort to creating one large city.
After bringing the case to residents in Ottawa through advertising, public meetings, advocacy and information distribution, the polls shifted from over 80% to roughly 50-50. This result was realized on the day that the province formalized its decision to force amalgamation on the capital region.
During the amalgamation debate, Ottawa-west Liberal MPP Alex Cullen
publicly supported the concept of one large city. Alex Cullen’s riding was planned for redistribution such that is would begin to cover a significant area of Nepean, including Rick Chiarelli’s ward. Rick Chiarelli challenged Alex Cullen for the nomination of the new riding of Ottawa West Nepean. Ultimately, Rick Chiarelli out-recruited Alex Cullen by a 4-1 ratio and won the nomination campaign. Cullen then chose to run against Chiarelli as an Ontario New Democratic Party
candidate. The election was won by Garry Guzzo
of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
.
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. He is currently an Ottawa City Council
Ottawa City Council
The Ottawa City Council is the governing body of the City of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is composed of 23 city councillors and the mayor. The mayor is elected at large, while each of the councillors represent wards throughout the city. Council members are elected to four year terms with the...
lor, and the second cousin of former Ottawa mayor Bob Chiarelli
Bob Chiarelli
Robert "Bob" Chiarelli is a Canadian politician. He served in the Ontario Legislative Assembly from 1987 to 1997, and was subsequently re-elected to the legislature in 2010 after serving as regional chair and mayor of Ottawa from 1997 to 2006...
. He represents the College Ward
College Ward
College Ward is a city ward in Ottawa, Canada's west end. The ward covers the neighbourhoods of Bells Corners, Qualicum, Graham Park, Leslie Park, Redwood, Kenson Park, Bel-Air Park, Bel-Air Heights, Braemar Park, Copeland Park, Briar Green, Centrepointe, Navaho, City View, Ryan Farm, Meadowlands...
covering part of Nepean
Nepean, Ontario
- Recent quantity of snow :- History :Nepean Township, originally known as Township D, was established in 1792 and originally included what is now the central area of Ottawa west of the Rideau River. Jehiel Collins, from Vermont, is believed to have been the first person to settle in Nepean...
and Ottawa's west end.
Early years
At age 16, while attending St. Pius X high school in Ottawa, Rick Chiarelli formed the Ontario Students Alliance for Fair Funding (OSAFF) to fight for the equality that was promised in the Constitution. At this time, Ontario’s separate schools were funded only to grade 10. Beyond this, a high school student was required to pay substantial tuition fees.Rick Chiarelli began to speak at hundreds of schools and the Ontario Students Alliance for Fair Funding (OSAFF) quickly grew to over 70,000 members across Ontario.
OSAFF launched a legal challenge against the Provincial Government’s treatment of separate schools and convinced Ian Scott, a prominent Canadian lawyer, to represent them in court. The action was timed to coincide with the visit to the Premier by Pope John Paul II. The court imposed deadlines on the Province to file its full defense to the action. As a result, Premier Bill Davis announced a change in the Province’s century old policy and granted full funding to separate schools. The case was unanimously won by OSAFF 9-0 at the Supreme Court of Canada.
During OSAFF’s legal challenge, Rick Chiarelli ran for school trustee of the school board and won. This resulted in Rick Chiarelli becoming the youngest ever elected.
City Council
He was first elected to office at age 19 when he won a seat on the Carleton Separate School Board in 1980's. At the time, he was the youngest elected official in the province. He ran for a seat on the council of the Regional Municipality of Ottawa Carleton in 1985, but lost.In 1988, he was elected to the Nepean City Council for the Borden ward. He was re-elected to Nepean council in 1994 in the newly created Nepean Centre Ward.
In 1996-97 when popular Mayor Ben Franklin became ill, Chiarelli served as Acting Mayor briefly. Franklin's sudden retirement in 1997, brought on by health problems, left Chiarelli
as an obvious front-runner to succeed Franklin as Mayor. However, he opted not to seek the Mayoralty and instead sought re-election to his ward seat. He was re-elected to that position by acclamation.
The 2000 municipal election was the first for the newly amalgamated City of Ottawa. Rick Chiarelli, who had been a leading opponent of amalgamation, faced long-time Councillor Al Loney in what was thought would be one of the tightest election battles of the year. Ultimately Chiarelli prevailed in a landslide and became Councillor for Baseline Ward. In 2003 Chiarelli was re-elected by acclamation. In 2006, after ward boundary changes, Chiarelli faced a strong challenge from cycling activist Brett Delmage in the race for Councillor of College Ward. Chiarelli won by a surprisingly wide plurality, securing 73% of the votes.
Rick Chiarelli was a driving force in the revitalization of Lansdowne Park and the creation of the Centrepointe Town Centre series of projects. He is known as a lifelong devotee to the Nepean "Pay-As-You-Go" system of municipal finance which was championed by former Nepean Mayor Ben Franklin and led that city out of debt while keeping taxes at inflation. Chiarelli received an award from a provincial Library body for work done under his chairmanship during the amalgamation of the city's public library systems.
Rick Chiarelli is a second cousin of former Mayor Bob Chiarelli but the two often disagreed on matters of policy.
Amalgamation
In the year 2000, Premier Michael Harris announced his intention to open the topic of the city of Ottawa’s amalgamation. This involved the expansion of the city boundaries to encompass several small cities and villages in the direct vicinity of the city of Ottawa, such as Gloucester and Nepean. Rick Chiarelli was chosen to chair the city’s campaign to oppose the amalgamation.At the beginning of the campaign, Nepean residents were strongly opposed to amalgamation, but the public opinion polls showed that over 80% of the residents inside of the previous city of Ottawa supported the growth of the city boundaries. Nepean held a referendum that resulted in over 84% of the residents opposing the amalgamation. The city council from Nepean and Kanata joined to create a proposal to merge the two cities. This would lead to a three-city model (western, core and eastern cities) for the capital region, without having to resort to creating one large city.
After bringing the case to residents in Ottawa through advertising, public meetings, advocacy and information distribution, the polls shifted from over 80% to roughly 50-50. This result was realized on the day that the province formalized its decision to force amalgamation on the capital region.
During the amalgamation debate, Ottawa-west Liberal MPP Alex Cullen
Alex Cullen
Alexander Shaun Cullen is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He is a former Member of Provincial Parliament in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario and a former member of Ottawa City Council, representing the Bay Ward in Ottawa's west end.-Early life and city politics:Cullen was born February 18,...
publicly supported the concept of one large city. Alex Cullen’s riding was planned for redistribution such that is would begin to cover a significant area of Nepean, including Rick Chiarelli’s ward. Rick Chiarelli challenged Alex Cullen for the nomination of the new riding of Ottawa West Nepean. Ultimately, Rick Chiarelli out-recruited Alex Cullen by a 4-1 ratio and won the nomination campaign. Cullen then chose to run against Chiarelli as an Ontario New Democratic Party
Ontario New Democratic Party
The Ontario New Democratic Party or , formally known as New Democratic Party of Ontario, is a social democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. It is a provincial section of the federal New Democratic Party. It was formed in October 1961, a few months after the federal party. The ONDP had its...
candidate. The election was won by Garry Guzzo
Garry Guzzo
Garry Guzzo is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 2003....
of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario , is a right-of-centre political party in Ontario, Canada. The party was known for many years as "Ontario's natural governing party." It has ruled the province for 80 of the years since Confederation, including an uninterrupted run from 1943 to 1985...
.
Ottawa municipal election, 2000
| Baseline Ward College Ward College Ward is a city ward in Ottawa, Canada's west end. The ward covers the neighbourhoods of Bells Corners, Qualicum, Graham Park, Leslie Park, Redwood, Kenson Park, Bel-Air Park, Bel-Air Heights, Braemar Park, Copeland Park, Briar Green, Centrepointe, Navaho, City View, Ryan Farm, Meadowlands... (Ward 8) |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % |
| Rick Chiarelli | 5738 | 59.67 |
| Al Loney | 3879 | 40.33 |
Ottawa municipal election, 2003
| Baseline Ward College Ward College Ward is a city ward in Ottawa, Canada's west end. The ward covers the neighbourhoods of Bells Corners, Qualicum, Graham Park, Leslie Park, Redwood, Kenson Park, Bel-Air Park, Bel-Air Heights, Braemar Park, Copeland Park, Briar Green, Centrepointe, Navaho, City View, Ryan Farm, Meadowlands... (Ward 8) |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % |
| Rick Chiarelli | ACCLAIMED | |
Ottawa municipal election, 2006
| College Ward College Ward College Ward is a city ward in Ottawa, Canada's west end. The ward covers the neighbourhoods of Bells Corners, Qualicum, Graham Park, Leslie Park, Redwood, Kenson Park, Bel-Air Park, Bel-Air Heights, Braemar Park, Copeland Park, Briar Green, Centrepointe, Navaho, City View, Ryan Farm, Meadowlands... (Ward 8) |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % |
| Rick Chiarelli | 13761 | 72.59% |
| Brett Delmage | 3765 | 19.86% |
| Laura Lee Doupe | 1432 | 7.55% |