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In November 2006, an overwhelming number of voters elected Larry O’Brien, who had campaigned on a platform of commitment to fiscal responsibility and a focus on excellence in delivery of core municipal services, as Mayor of Ottawa.
A newcomer to politics, Mayor O’Brien stated his commitment to run the city on a more business-like basis, a task, as the former Chairman and CEO of CALIAN Technologies Ltd., for which he is uniquely suited.
The first focus for Mayor O’Brien was to halt the proposed, controversial LRT project and to guide Council to accept a “0%” tax increase budget for 2007. He implemented the Mayor’s Task Force on Transportation, which has led to the initiation of an environmental assessment for a downtown tunnel to relieve traffic stress in the city centre as a first phase of an extensive regional traffic and transportation plan; he changed the nature of the Trash debate from land fill to waste-to-energy; and has been successful in changing the agenda on social engineering projects, such as the City’s crack pipe program.
In April 2007, Mayor O’Brien announced “1,000 Days of TRANSFORMATION” as a way to focus city staff and Council on building a sustainable financial model for the city.
Mayor O’Brien was born in Ottawa and graduated from the Algonquin School of Technology 1972 with a diploma in Technology. He founded CALIAN in 1982 as a one-person consulting company and built it into an internationally competitive technology firm, a testimony to his commitment, work ethic, strong values and fiscal prudence.
Mayor O’Brien is a past member of the Prime Minister’s Advisory Council on Science and Technology (ACST), a past chairman of the Sectoral Advisory Group on International Trade (SAGIT) on Information Technologies and Telecommunications (IT&T), as well as co-chair of the Regional Economic Diversification Opportunities (REDO) committee and chairman of the Canadian Advanced Technology Association (CATA) from 1994 until 1996.
He was co-chair of Saint Vincent Hospital’s capital campaign in 2004 that successfully achieved its goal of $7.5 million and in 2006 he was awarded the United Way Community Builder of the Year award.
Mayor O’Brien is married to Colleen McBride and has two sons Mike and Matthew.
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