From grad to mayor

By Michelle Jondreau

jond0001@algonquincollege.com

Being rushed from one end of city hall to the other, the mayor of Ottawa was literally forced to jog to the main floor where a CTV news crew was waiting for him to report for their station.

“It’s like this every day here,” said press secretary Lindsay Valente.

An Algonquin journalism student had to hurry to keep up with Larry O’Brien as he dealt with the aftermath of releasing this year’s budget plans.

This time of year can be one of the busiest and hectic for O’Brien; however, as the mayor of the city for the past two years, he has learned many valuable lessons which stemmed from his time as an Algonquin student.

“I think at Algonquin, because I was in the technology program, it kicked me out of being a lazy thinker,” said O’Brien.

While at Algonquin, O’Brien had to take physics technology classes which were something he had to work hard at in order to get the marks he wanted.

“Taking these classes helped me to develop a work ethic that I had previously in my life, but hadn’t fine tuned it as much,” said O’Brien.

The mayor described his time at Algonquin as being, “six semesters of very intense work, and that it was probably the hardest I’ve worked in my life.”

He said he was grateful despite all the hard work because right after he graduated he got a chance to work at Nortel, and he was able to reduce his working week from 130 to 90 hours a week.

“Everyone thought I was a superstar,” said O’Brien with a chuckle.

Of all the accomplishments he has made in his life, he said having his two boys was by far the greatest. As far as the public recognizing his actions during his time as mayor, he said he has yet to accomplish something to be remembered by.

“All my projects are still in process,” said O’Brien.

Colleen O’Brien, the mayor’s wife, said in the four years she has known him, she has noticed that as a person he has been a very kind soul, especially in the way he deals with politics.

“It would be easy to get frustrated with the system, but he always maintains a positive outlook,” said Colleen.

For a man who will be turning 60 next year, Colleen said it is amazing he still finds time to give back to the community as much as he does. According to his website, on Halloween of this year the mayor hosted the second annual Trick or Treat with the Mayor at City Hall, in which he collected more than three tons of food for the Ottawa Food Bank’s Baby Supply Cupboard.

“His run for mayor had nothing to do with political gain, but everything to do with giving back to the community,” said Colleen.

His website also indicated that on Thanksgiving, rather than spending time eating turkey with his family like most people, he spent it with his son at the Ottawa Mission where he helped to serve those less fortunate.

“Persistence, and the ability to philosophically deal with issues, these are my personal strengths,” said O’Brien.

The mayor later commented with a laugh that he had too many weaknesses to list, but surprisingly enough, at the top of his list was being too open in the realm of politics.

“That’s a weakness in politics, because in politics if you’re exploring two options, or prepared to look at another option after already looking at one, your political opponents will accuse you of being a flip-flopper,” said O’Brien.

In reality, the mayor said, when he finds himself in these situations he is only trying to make the best judgment.

During his time as mayor, O’Brien has met some interesting people, including but not limited to the Dalai Lama, the mayor of Beijing, and U.S. President George W. Bush.

“Meeting the Dalai Lama was very exciting; I was blessed by him,” said O’Brien.

From meeting the Dalai Lama to dealing with ordinary people, the mayor said he has enjoyed working for the public sector and for anyone interested in working in this field, he had some sound advice.

“Running a campaign to become a political figure, I highly recommend everyone do it once, even if they don’t win. It’s a life-altering experience to get out there and put yourself right out in front,” said O’Brien.