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Running in his eighth election, Jim Watson is approaching the October 22 vote with calmness and confidence.

Clive Doucet’s much-heralded entry into the race has changed very little strategically for Watson because whatever the odds, he always campaigns as if he’s the underdog – and it will be no different this time. With a well-oiled and well-resourced campaign machine in place, he is trusting the meticulous preparation and organization that has won him seven elections, to see him through again.

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“I have been very fortunate, and always very grateful for the support I have received in the elections I have run, but I am never over-confident because over-confidence loses elections,” he said in an interview. “When I go to my office every day, I know I am a tenant. I don’t take anything for granted.”

Since he entered politics in 1991, Watson has won two council and two provincial elections, three mayoral races and is now aiming for the fourth. He has become such a serial winner that few are willing to run against him. It is said that familiarity often breeds contempt, but apparently not with Watson. Despite being in politics for three decades, Ottawans can’t seem to get enough of him.