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Watson said it’s hard to say what the big issues will be in the next campaign, but he predicted the LeBreton Flats redevelopment, finishing the Ottawa River action plan and building Stage 2 of LRT will likely be the most pressing. LeBreton Flats is a project of the National Capital Commission, but Watson sees a big role for the mayor to play as a member of the NCC board and the boss at City Hall.

“I think it will be about who’s best able to stickhandle a lot of big projects to make sure they’re kept on time and on budget,” Watson said. “LRT is our largest single investment. I’ve certainly worked hard to develop a co-operative and cordial relationship with the other two levels of government so we get our fair share of funding, whether it’s for health care or transit or other built infrastructure.”

Watson returned to municipal politics in 2010 after serving as a cabinet minister in the Liberal provincial government. He defeated one-term mayor Larry O’Brien and went to work on the city’s $2.1-billion east-west LRT plan while setting annual caps for property tax increases.

In 2014, Watson ran for re-election on the $3-billion Stage 2 rail plan, vowing to set the stage to extend tracks in three directions by 2023.

On Wednesday, council voted on the final design and procurement strategy for Stage 2, with construction scheduled to begin in 2018 as the first stage of LRT begins fare-paying service.

Since the 2014 election, the city managed to expand the Stage 2 program to include rail extensions to Moodie Drive, Trim Road and the Ottawa International Airport.

Watson, 55, enjoys strong support on city council and in the community. He scored an approval rating of 79 per cent in a Mainstreet/Postmedia poll at the beginning of 2017.

“Certainly the poll that came out that showed I had a very good approval rating was encouraging, but you can’t base major decisions on just one poll,” Watson said.

“If there’s a sense that people want change and they think I’m not an agent of change, then obviously they’ll vote for someone else.”

jwilling@postmedia.com

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