Over the course of the campaign, Bob has been outspoken about issues impacting Ward 1. Outside of his platform (which you can read here), Bob has been sure to demonstrate to Ward 1 what they're getting when they elect Bob Bell as their City Councillor. Check out Bob's position on key issues impacting the Ward, and other news and updates from Bob's journey on the campaign trail.
The Issues:
1) Finance And Corporate Services Committee Delegation: the City of Ottawa's Long Range Financial Plan on Tax-Supported Capital
2) Transit Committee Delegation: Opening Date for the LRT East
3) Renoviction Bylaw
4) A Plan to Increase Transparency for Ottawa Residents: City of Ottawa Vote Tracker
5) City of Ottawa's Approval of a 54% cut to Development Charges
6) City of Ottawa's 48-point Plan to Address Increased Transit Pressure in September
7) On the Centrum Redevelopment Community Consultation
8) Urban Sprawl
9) Three Ward 1 City of Ottawa Consultations Being Booked on the Same Day
10) AI Data Centres
11) The Role Developper Dollars Play on Municipal Campaigns
12) On the 1500+-Unit Development at Centrum Being Sent Back to Staff for Revisions
13) An Approach to Addressing Housing Affordability
14) Bob Bell in the Ottawa Lookout's article about Orleans transit
15) 5-question candidate introduction to Bob Bell published by NCR Now
16) Bob Bell shared his 3 policy priorities related to ALTO
17) The Heart of Orléans Market market haul, learn more about one of Bob's favourite events
18) Bob Bell's position on Return to Office Mandates
19) Roger's Ward One Debate for 2026
20) Breaking down $32M in road renewal investment for Ward 1 2018-2022
21) Le Droit article about a Ring Road featuring Bob Bell
22) Bob Bell was featured in a CTV meet the candidates piece about Ward 1
23) Bob Bell contributed to Good Golly Zines and Synapcity's Ward 1 Zine
24) Debate Highlight: Bob Bell's criticism of current efforts by City Council to establish transparency at City Hall
25) Debate Highlight: Bob Bell's Thoughts on Transit Planning
26) Bob Bell's Campaign Budget Transparency: Update 1 - September 22
27) Debate Highlight: Bob Bell's thoughts on the expansion of Highway 174
28) Community Share: Bob Bell shared his support for a community-developed proposal for a Multi-use Path Adjacent to Highway 174
29) Debate Highlight: Bob Bell's criticism of current council hiding under "Delegated Authority" and City staff binding councillors through NDAs
30) Bob Bell's Thoughts on the Delay for Pre-trial Testing of the LRT East Extension
31) Bob Bell Shares the Community's Concerns with Safety at the 3030 St Joseph Construction Site
32) Why Not Accepting Developer Donations is especially important in this term of council
33) Bob Bell's Recap of the Commute Series and Why Transit is a Critical Issue in the 2026 Municipal Election
34) Bob Bell featured on ottown.ca
35) Bob Bell's October 15th Donor List Update
The Details:
1) On June 2nd, Bob spoke to our current city councillors on the Finance and Corporate Services Committee about the lack of transparency in the funding strategy that was being presented to council.
The report is full of technical jargon and undefined terms that make it impossible to understand. It pushes issues like facility renewal and renovation down the road and passes the bill to our next generation. We don't want to end up like Toronto where taxes go up 17% in two years, that is the risk of this strategy.
As your councillor, Bob will fight to ensure vital reports like this are clear and accessible, and will not hesitate to send reports back to staff they aren't transparent. That is what we deserve.
2) On June 11th, Bob joined the Transit Committee meeting to talk about the LRT East Opening date. We need more transparency from OC Transpo and we need city councillors who push for public transit that is fast, frequent, affordable and reliable.
3) On July 8th at Planning and Housing, councillors considered a renoviction by-law and Bob urged committee to pass the by-law for full council consideration. This bylaw has since passed through Council.
A big thank you to Ariel Troster for her amazing leadership on this issue and to all those pushing for stronger protections for tenants.
Watch Bob's comments on the bylaw here: https://youtube.com/shorts/3uCTvo7jhVE.
4) As your city councillor, Bob will bring forward a motion to create an Ottawa Council Vote Tracker. Accountability starts with making information easy to find.
5) If Bob were already your councillor, he would have voted against the City's plan to cut development charges.
Watch Bob's comments on development charges here: https://youtube.com/shorts/OXRpsRcgRDo.
6) Watch this video to learn about why Bob would have voted 'no' on the City's 48-point plan to address strains and demand on transit this September. Why does the City keep approving transit plans without meaningfully consulting the riders? Access the video here: https://youtube.com/shorts/doJcWGNXkMU.
7) When Bob is your Councillor, he will prioritize letting resident feedback drive his decisions.
Whether its the redevelopment of Centrum, how we approach rebuilding transit, or any other decisions he faces, he will centre the lived experiences and feedback of Ward 1 residents.
That starts now, ensuring you know his position on core issues for the City, and that continues when he gets elected.
Watch Bob's comments on the importance of the Centrum Re-Development Consultation here: https://youtube.com/shorts/lIeOJvL6So0.
8) Bob believes Ottawa needs to grow smarter.
9) Public consultations are so important to keep our democracy healthy and our decisions focused on what the community actually wants and needs.
The city scheduling three meetings that directly impact our ward on the same day, shows they either don't know or don't care that you won't be able to go to all three.
This fall, a vote for Bob Bell is a vote for more meaningful public consultation.
Watch as Bob Bell discusses the City of Ottawa booking three consultations with Ward 1 on the same day here: https://youtube.com/shorts/-8OAbSMwyz8.
10) AI data centres are a bad deal for Ottawa. Unless that changes, it's a No for Bob. Learn more about why Bob is skeptical about AI data centres here: https://youtube.com/shorts/8Zk-x-wUxgM.
11) Bob Bell has committed to not accepting developper donations throughout his campaign, and publishing a list of his donors over $100 before the election. Bob's vote is not for sale. Learn more about this pledge here: https://youtube.com/shorts/QznpbyQE_v4.
12) Orléans is growing fast. Making sure we grow close to the LRT makes sense. Re-electing a councillor who has failed to prepare our ward for intensification doesn't make sense.
15) On August 31, 2026, the NCR Now published a 5-question introduction to Bob Bell as a candidate for Ward 1. Read the article here: https://ncrnow.ca/2026/08/31/5-questions-with-council-candidate-bob-bell/.
16) On September 4th, Bob Bell shared his Three Key Policy Priorities Related to ALTO: 1) Work to exit the City of Ottawa from its NDA on ALTO. 2) Create a coalition of Eastern Ontario municipalities to jointly negotiate with ALTO. 3) Update the City of Ottawa's Accountability and Transparency Policy restricting when a NDA can be signed. Unless there is a resolution of council in open session, no City employee should able to bind the City in an NDA with a government or government agency. This amendment should extend to any agreement which would restrict disclosure of information on municipal service delivery, capital costs or other major impacts.
Bob understands that City Council may not control every decision made by the federal government. But he believes they can and should demand transparency, create alliances, and center the voices of Ottawa residents.
On issues like ALTO, a new perspective can find new ways to give Ottawa more influence, more leverage and a stronger voice.
Check out the video to learn more here: https://youtube.com/shorts/J2maLFG0VcM?feature=share
17) The Heart of Orléans Market is one of many incredible markets that happen regularly in Ward 1 which have become a regular part of Bob's family routine. In this video, Bob and his family head to the market for lunch and end up with a haul of goodies and treats.
Check out the video here: https://youtube.com/shorts/uxJ-HQ-f0k0?feature=share
18) The City of Ottawa hasn't put in the work required to ensure that transit and infrastructure is prepared for return to office mandates.
On federal RTO policies - Bob realizes the impact that municipal government can have on the federal government's decision to require employees in-office is minimal. With that said, he is aware that our transit, roads and parking infrastructure are not built to withstand RTO4 or RTO5 by the federal government. The federal government has indicated, through steadfast support of RTO, their starting point in negotitations - a full return to working in-office, downtown. While Bob believes that employees should be allowed to work from home where possible, if the federal government refuses to entertain that idea, he believes a reasonable counter is to build satellite offices for federal employees in suburbs including Orléans.
On City RTO policies - Bob disagrees with the City's RTO mandate and would work to reverse the decision. Work from home is more efficient, supports businesses and services in communities across the City, and is a competitive advantage when hiring in a job market like Ottawa.
Learn more about Bob's thoughts on RTO mandates: https://youtube.com/shorts/YMVaiD-7CBg?feature=share
19) On September 8th, Bob participated in the Roger's Municipal Election debate for Ward 1. Check it out!
20) When we talk about road renewal work in Ward 1, we hear a lot of big numbers. From 2018-2026 we are told that $32M was invested in road renewal across the Ward. Bob breaks down that that number actually means in this video and demonstrates, while the investment seems large, its less than what the community deserves based on overall City spending.
Check it out: https://youtube.com/shorts/uVF-wKWNJPs?feature=share
21) Bob Bell was featured in a Le Droit article about a Ring Road. He shared that he believes the Ring Road discussion - which is a project that isn't scoped, costed, or consulted on - is a distraction during the election when we should be focused on problems and projects in the East End which aren't complimentary to our current representatives.
Read it here (French only): https://www.ledroit.com/actualites/actualites-locales/ottawa/2026/09/17/la-congestion-sur-la-174-au-coeur-de-la-campagne-a-orleans-et-cumberland-LIEGXON3PZGJJH2SYJMY74L7RQ/?utm_source=homepage-le-droit&utm_medium=internal-recirculation&utm_campaign=neuf-manchettes-10-18
22) Bob was excited to participate in a CTV Ottawa 'meet the candidates' series. Learn more about Bob, and the other candidates, here: https://www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/article/meet-the-candidates-for-councillor-in-ward-1-orleans-east-cumberland/
23) Bob was proud to contribute to Good Golly Zines and Synapcity's Ward 1 Zine. It's a beautiful piece of work! Check it out here: https://goodgollyzines.ca/ottawa-election-2026/
24) During the debate there was a lot of discussion about transparency. As a lawyer, Bob knows there’s a difference between asking for transparency and establishing accountability.
Check out the clip: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1JysVLKNQU/
25) During the debate, Bob spoke about the need for planning transportation more holistically. His view is that we keep treating road renewal, transit, active transportation and congestion like competing priorities. They’re not. They’re the same problem.
Check out the clip: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1H9fvVVWZN/
26) Bob Bell's Campaign Budget Transparency: Update 1 - September 22
Bob has committed to being transparent about his budget, donations, and not accepting any developer donations. You deserve to know who funds this campaign and how we plan to spend the money. Here's our budget and donor update as of September 21.
27) Debate Highlight: Bob Bell's thoughts on the expansion of Highway 174
During the debate, there was a discussion about the potential of a ring road and eagerness from many to campaign on the idea. This concept hasn't been impact assessed and will require substantial investment and collaboration with the provincial and federal governments which hasn't been secured.
31) Bob Bell Shares the Community's Concerns with Safety at the 3030 St Joseph Construction Site
32) Why Not Accepting Developer Donations is especially important in this term of council
33) Bob Bell's Recap of the Commute Series and Why Transit is a Critical Issue in the 2026 Municipal Election
34) Bob Bell featured on ottown.ca
Check it out: https://www.ottown.ca/articles/ottawa-bob-bell-election-questions
35) Bob Bell' October 15 Donor List Update
