Shawn Little

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Shawn Little was a City Councillor in Ottawa, Canada, for the urban Kitchissippi Ward, consisting of neighbourhoods west of the city core. He was born in Ottawa and raised in Westboro where he attended Broadview Public School and Nepean High School. He has a History and Political Science degree from Carleton University and a Diploma in Health Sciences from Humber College.

He was involved in politics from a young age, having worked for Conservative MP Walter Baker at age 16.^[1] He first ran for election in Goulbourn outside of Ottawa in 1988 at age 24. He next ran in the Elmdale Ward in the 1994 municipal election, but lost to incumbent Joan Wong ^[2] He helped lead the effort to oppose the NCC plan to widen the Champlain Bridge,^[3] and when he ran again in 1997 he was elected to city council to represent the Westboro area. In 2000 the recently-amalgamated City of Ottawa was created, and Little ran to represent Kitchissippi Ward, covering much of western central Ottawa. The main issue was whether a large new Loblaws store should be built in the area, a project Little supported but that many in the community opposed. Little main opponent, Regional Council member Linda Davis, opposed the project.^[4] Crime and school closures were also important issues in the campaign. The race was the most bitter in the city with Little's supporters accused of stealing lawn signs while Davis was accused of leaking libelous material to Frank magazine.^[5] Little was also criticized for not living in the ward; he had moved to neighbouring Bay Ward after inheriting his grandmother's house.^[6] In a close race, Little defeat Davis by 900 votes.

Little's first term on Ottawa council proved to be a very difficult one. His greatest problem arose from allegations by Davis supporters that Little had misrepresented his election expenses. An audit eventually found that he had surpassed his limits by $2600.^[7] In December 2001, he was charged with violating the Municipal Elections Act.^[8] There was also criticism for spending tens of thousands of dollars to investigate and prosecute overspending of less than $2600.^[9] The charges were eventually dismissed as Elections Ottawa had failed to properly hand over important documents, and Little was cleared of legal wrongdoing. The city refused to reimburse Little's considerable legal costs. Little sued the city to recoup his legal expenses, and sued fellow councillor Alex Cullen for defamation.^[10] He eventually settled, with the city paying a portion of his legal bills. He dropped his suit against Cullen.

He was also plagued by a series of minor scandals over his first term. His actions on council were criticized as he had the highest expenses of any councillor by a considerable margin,^[11] including money that went to an expensive trip to California.^[12] It was also found that he had overspent his previous budget by $10,000, money he was forced to pay back to the city.^[13] The owner of an Ottawa bar also reported that Little had refused to comply with the non-smoking by-law Little himself had voted for.^[14] He was also sued by his own mother over a real estate dispute. From April to July 2002, he was absent from council due to an intestinal infection caught while in Mexico.^[15] Due to the accumulated problems, the Ottawa Citizen called for him to resign,^[16] but Little chose to stay on.

Little remained in office, and surprised some by deciding to run for reelection in the 2003 election.^[17] Considered vulnerable by many, the race attracted seven challengers, most prominently Linda Davis. According to the Ottawa Citizen "most people who follow municipal politics gave Mr. Little almost no chance of holding his job in the 2003 election;"^[18] however, benefiting from the divided opposition, Little was reelected, receiving a 27% plurality. ^[19]

His second term was far less tumultuous. Little had an almost perfect attendance record at city council meetings, and avoided major controversy.^[20] During his time on City Council, Little served on a wide variety of city committees, boards and agencies. He chaired the City's License Committee and Animal Control Tribunal (quasi-judicial bodies) and founded the Hintonburg Economic Development Committee. Little was extremely successful in bringing together residents, local police and various municipal agencies to tackle issues of crime, prostitution and property standards non-compliance by creating and chairing the Hintonburg Problem Properties Task Force and Hintonburg Safety Partnership - a model that is now used in other areas of the city.

Little initially decided to contest the 2006 election, but dropped out of the race two months prior to the election. ^[21] Christine Leadman won the election to replace him. As of February 2007, Little had formed two new local companies - Capital City Planning Consultants and Capital Catering. He continues to remain active in local affairs and resides in the west end of Ottawa.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official site
• Pesticide Vote

Preceded by Joan Wong

City councillors from Kitchissippi Ward 1997-2006

Succeeded by Christine Leadman