Evan H. Potter

How @jleiper.bsky.social handles #Lansdowne in next 8 days shows if he’s ready to be mayor. As #ottcity Council’s Opposition Leader, all eyes on how he answers Sutcliffe’s turn to negative campaigning.
@seandevine9.bsky.social @timabray.bsky.social @neilsara.bsky.social @lainejohnson.bsky.social

Why is @mayormarksutcliffe.bsky.social , who has the votes to approve #lansdowne 2.0, accusing community groups, members of Council & experts of spreading 'misinformation'?
This seems very off-brand.
@seandevine9.bsky.social @lainejohnson.bsky.social @shawnmenard.bsky.social @jleiper.bsky.social

5/5 5 #Ottawa voters don’t mind confidence. They mind condescension. When
@mayormarksutcliffe.bsky.social
starts telling critics they lack “Team Ottawa” spirit, it’s less leadership than lecture — and that’s when people stop listening. #ottnews #ottcity #ottpoli
@kengray20.bsky.social

4/5 If Mayor knows he is going to win #Lansdowne vote 15-10 on Nov 7, the smart play is silence. Instead, Sutcliffe’s spoiling for a fight. Why? I argue it could be part of Mayor's rebrand for upcoming election.
@shawnmenard.bsky.social @stephanieplante.bsky.social

3/5 Last Monday’s #Lansdowne Update by Mayor Sutcliffe was a masterclass in spin without news. The report hadn’t even dropped yet, but the talking points were ready. #ottcity strategic coms is head-spinning.
@arieltroster.com @timtierney.ca

2/5 The Mayor’s new pitch sounds less like #ottcity planning, more like a McDonald’s ad: “More for Less!” Problem is, the combo comes with a 50-year aftertaste and a $419 million.
@clarkekelly.bsky.social @riverwardriley.bsky.social @rawlson.bsky.social @kanatanorth.bsky.social

A Very Curious Lansdowne News Conference: "What's Up with the Mayor?" Mark Sutcliffe's puzzling early Lansdowne victory lap with lots of new talking points

1/5 @mayormarksutcliffe.bsky.social
has votes for #Lansdowne 2.0.

Why sudden flurry of pressers & slogans?

My latest Substack column:

@jleiper.bsky.social @seandevine9.bsky.social @lainejohnson.bsky.social @neilsara.bsky.social

cityofottawapolitics.substack.com/p/a-very-cur...

This morning, Mayor Sutcliffe held a press conference outlining the modified Lansdowne 2.0 recommendations before city councillors or the public had access to them. That’s unacceptable. Transparency and respect for Council should come before media rollouts.

2/2 Sutcliffe’s Doctrine: growth first, maintenance later. It’s trickle-down urbanism — where prosperity’s supposed to flow from stadiums to suburbs while the pipes and rinks rust in place.
#ottawa #ottcity
@arieltroster.com @lainejohnson.bsky.social @shawnmenard.bsky.social @rawlson.bsky.social

Lansdowne 2.0: The Rhetorical Bridge That Needs to be Bombed The Lansdowne final vote is a test run for the October 2026 municipal election.

1/2 @mayormarksutcliffe.bsky.social won't need victory lap at #lansdowne update
Insiders say it will be approved on Nov. 7 by 14 to 11 or 15 to 10.
@kengray20.bsky.social @seandevine9.bsky.social

Lansdowne 2.0: The Rhetorical Bridge That Needs to be Bombed
open.substack.com/pub/cityofot...

Neil Saravanamuttoo (@neilsara) The 4 Most Expensive Words in Ottawa's History, and how you can help stop the City wasting half a billion dollars: https://betterottawa.ca/fightlansdowne/

#BetterOttawa takes on #Lansdowne 2.0
@neilsara.bsky.social video challenges pro #lansdowne Councilors like @timtierney.ca & Cathy Curry @kanatanorth.bsky.social
A model for how @jleiper.bsky.social can talk to Ottawa

@seandevine9.bsky.social @kengray20.bsky.social

substack.com/@neilsara/no...

Tewin Debate Was Not A Waste: POTTER - THE BULLDOG Local media dutifully reported on the Planning and Housing Committee’s marathon deliberations over Bay Councillor Theresa Kavanagh’s motion to remove the

@shawnmenard.bsky.social has had enough.

Read his sobering words to City Council in transcript of #Tewin debate.

@neilsara.bsky.social @brigittepellerin.bsky.social
@seandevine9.bsky.social @lainejohnson.bsky.social

Tewin Debate Was Not A Waste: POTTER bulldogottawa.com/tewin-debate...

City drops legal action against progressive group | CBC News The City of Ottawa is no longer pursuing legal action against Horizon Ottawa for alleged breaches of campaign finance rules during the 2022 election.

#ottcity Election Watch 2026: Campaigns & aligned citizens groups must keep eye on financial reporting.

Third parties will use any financial irregularities to create 'chill effect'.

@kengray20.bsky.social @neilsara.bsky.social @seandevine9.bsky.social #ottawa

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

3/6
If municipal theatre had a season pass, this week’s #Tewin debate was it.
Tierney fretted about “kicking the can,” Menard accused colleagues of “talking out of both sides of our mouth.”

One voted for expansion, one for accountability.

@kanatanorth.bsky.social

2/6
Tierney: “I’m not finished at the third tower at Lansdowne. I think we need more intensification.”

@shawnmenard.bsky.social : “What you did here… was wrong.”

@arieltroster.com @catherinekitts.bsky.social @rawlson.bsky.social @glengower.ca

6/6 Five hours of sighs, side-eyes and “accountability.”
Tierney wants “more towers.”
Menard wants “more reasonableness.”
Ottawa gets another split vote and one more reminder: City Hall is always under construction.

#ottawa

5/6 Tierney: “Some people want to live as a larger family… We either build or hit pause and let the province take over.”
Menard: “Fiscal conservatives add a huge amount of debt when it’s for developers.”
Ottawa’s urban boundary is shrinking only in patience.

4/6 Tewin vote: 5 yeas, 7 nays.
Kavanagh lost the motion but won the moment.
Tierney sees a “train running at us.”
Menard sees “developers who benefit, First Nations communities who are visibly upset.”
Both are right to worry.

Councillors Debate Tewin: A Planning and Housing Committee Divided Councillor Tim Tierney to colleagues: "get off your pulpits and stop with ideology and focus on what we're trying to achieve."

1/6--5 hrs, 12 councillors, one motion, one reminder: #ottcity Planning & Housing Committee is a house divided.

My latest column

#ottawa

@kengray20.bsky.social @seandevine9.bsky.social @timtierney.ca @neilsara.bsky.social @jleiper.bsky.social

cityofottawapolitics.substack.com/p/councillor...

3/3 3 Best part? It worked. The #Lansdowne press release sailed past most local newscasts on Friday. Since few local reporters cover #ottcity with high intensity of @kengray20.bsky.social & Ottawa Outlook, media silence becomes
@mayormarksutcliffe.bsky.social
most effective press secretary.

2/3 Meanwhile, CBC Ottawa didn't didn’t even flag it. Notice of a final ‘go-no go’ #Lansdowne vote--what will be one of the most defining votes of
@mayormarksutcliffe.bsky.social
term--is apparently not considered ‘news’. #OttCity #OttPoli

City Puts Out Lansdowne Trash Late Friday - THE BULLDOG Announcing all the vital Lansdowne meetings in a press release late Friday afternoon is a classic case of the Sutcliffe city administration putting out the

1/3 Favourite #ottcity strategic coms tradition: dropping #Lansdowne 2.0 news release at 4:15 p.m. on Friday before Thanksgiving. Quelle surprise.

@kengray20.bsky.social @seandevine9.bsky.social @lainejohnson.bsky.social

City Puts Out Lansdowne Trash Late Friday bulldogottawa.com/city-puts-ou...

7/7 If @mayormarksutcliffe.bsky.social can't get 12 Yes votes, watch message pivot from “Lansdowne or nothing” to “too big to fail.” Cue slideshow: sunk costs, staff hours, & bad optics of OSEG exit. there was never a Plan B—because that would have given Ottawans a choice.
@seandevine9.bsky.social

6/7 Three basics for Council: 1. Why now—with an $11B infrastructure gap? 2. Why this scope—smaller but costlier? 3. Why this financing—back-loaded returns, front-loaded risk? If you can’t answer cleanly, vote no

5/7 @senators.bsky.social
Downtown arena district is coming: It will vacuum up discretionary spend. If your Lansdowne model ignores that magnet, it’s not a model—it’s a wish. Re-run the numbers at today’s rates. #OttPoli #Lansdowne

4/7 Call it "faith-based budgeting": $500M+ on 40-year debt, OSEG posting recurring losses, and payback pinned to long-tail “waterfalls” decades out. Cash now, revenue later—maybe. That’s not prudence; that’s faith-based budgeting.

3/7 I argue: Why are #ottawa taxpayers paying premium price for L2 and getting less? Fewer seats, no North Side Stand roof, a smaller arena. When “critical asset” means “smaller building,” the burden of proof is on City Hall.
@kanatanorth.bsky.social

2/7 @mayormarksutcliffe.bsky.social
doesn’t need provincial $ to pass L2—he’s had 12 Yes Councilors. He needs it for optics. Queen’s Park cash = a communications shield when the blowback hits. L2 prov. $ optional for the vote; priceless for the PR.
@clarkekelly.bsky.social
#Lansdowne #OttCity

Lansdowne 2.0: The Opportunity Costs We'll Feel Every Day Or: How we've been told to stop worrying, close our eyes, and just say "Yes"

1/7 In my latest column I call on @seandevine9.bsky.social & following Councilors to stand their ground:
@rawlson.bsky.social @riverwardriley.bsky.social @shawnmenard.bsky.social @lainejohnson.bsky.social @jleiper.bsky.social @arieltroster.com

cityofottawapolitics.substack.com/p/lansdowne-...

4/4 @mayormarksutcliffe.bsky.social
has always had 12 Yes Councilor Votes to pass L2. That’s why Ontario $ is optional--but priceless PR. When the heat comes, Sutcliffe will point to Queen’s Park and say: “See, #ottawa, I got you this $."
@seandevine9.bsky.social @shawnmenard.bsky.social