On March 8 at 12:30pm anyone with access to the internet had the opportunity to ask Mayor Jim Watson any question they felt needed an answer.
You could do so either by going to Jim Watson’s website or by using the hashtag #AskJim via Twitter. This is part of an ongoing monthly initiative dubbed Monthly Chat With The Mayor. For an hour during lunchtime, you can shoot the bull with Jimmy boy and take the bull by the horns on certain issues.
This gives you the choice to either spend your lunchtime asking questions to the mayor while eating your ham and cheese sandwich and sipping your soda or you can listen to your uninspiring colleagues complain about their work load.
Frequently asked questions focus on municipal issues and anything related to the City. A journalist moderates the chat room to avoid stupid or untactful questions. This month, Stephanie Kinsella of 580 CFRA had the pleasure of moderating and did a good job getting 16 questions through to the mayor. She even got one in past the cut-off at 1:31 pm, before the mayor could say TTYL!
This was no easy task for Kinsella, “the hardest part, suppressing the reporter instinct to ask my own Q’s and follow up ones to those that had been asked,” admitted Kinsella.
The chat started out slowly with the first question appearing at 12:32 pm and the mayor’s answer surfacing 3 minutes later. At first, it seemed he was in a BRB status, but it became the average time participants had to wait for an answer. The time was understandable as the mayor responded with detailed answers, sometimes even sharing stats and other interesting data.
The most popular topics were Lansdowne and transit, specifically the Ottawa Light Rail project. When asked what the best question was, Kinsella answered by suggesting questions on the O-train extension were the most interesting. “The bottom line, from the city, there is no money,” said Kinsella. “There are at least some people who want to boost transit options and routes, especially further south and connecting to Québec,” added Kinsella.
The most surprising question was about the Ottawa Convention Centre digital advertising. “The billboards will be huge – 10 times the size of existing billboards, displaying commercial advertising most of the time. They’ll shine directly into the living and bedrooms of hundreds of people’s homes…” wrote the resident. “Why do you continue to fully support and endorse the billboards while ignoring their size, scale, scope and impact? When will you care about the affected residents and meet directly with them to seriously discuss their concerns?” Here was the mayor’s response “First of all the art wall is NOT ten times a regular billboard. Secondly, I heard from one resident in Old Ottawa East that they would be disturbed by the light. OOE [Old Ottawa East] is kilometers away from the wall. The ads and images will be done with great class and care…We live in an urban community and I have seen these kinds of billboards all over the world and the public has embraced them.” As you can see questions can be precise and the mayor and his team need to know their dossiers and respond quickly.
The chat is part of a growing wave allowing citizens to have a greater access to politicians. For better odds of seeing your question asked, send your question early during the chat. Also, make sure your question is precise, as you will rarely get a follow up question.
If you have any burning questions to ask the mayor your next opportunity will be April 10 between 12:30 and 1:30 pm. Francois Pierre-Dufault from Le Droit will moderate the next session and you will be able to chat or clavarde in French and English.
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