Katherine Hobbs
Katherine Hobbs is the Ottawa city councillor of Kitchissippi Ward. She won the ward in the Ottawa municipal election, 2010, defeating the incumbent Christine Leadman.
Hobbs lives in the Hintonburg neighbourhood of the city, and was raised in Ottawa. Hobbs graduated from the University of Ottawa in Business Administration and received a certification in Internet Marketing from the University of British Columbia. Prior to being elected, she worked for Novotech Technologies from 2003. She has also worked for Bell Canada, Nortel, Aastra Telecom and for Scotiabank.
Hobbs was elected over community dissatisfaction with the previous council cancelling the north south LRT and inability to move on the redesign and redevelopment of Lansdowne Park. There was anger over the development of a former convent in Westboro into new building units which Leadman was not in favour of, however was approved by the former Council which included Leadman prior to Hobbs taking office. While Hobbs was not an anti-development candidate, outrage over Leadman's failure to stop the convent development in the ward was key to Leadman losing the election.
Hobbs is a cycling advocate who sold her car in 2012 in favour of other modes of transportation, including cycling, walking, shared car services and public transit. She has been instrumental in creating more cycling infrastructure in Kitchissippi than in any other Ward in the City of Ottawa. Churchill Avenue reconstruction brought the first Complete Street design in Ottawa, incorporating raised segregated pedestrian and Cycling lanes. Churchill is now being used as a model for other roads in the City.
During her first term on Council Hobbs secured $500,000 worth of funding for 5 community design plans. Incorporating extensive community input, these design plans provide guidelines for how the ward will develop, protecting low rise residential areas and increasing greenspace in the study areas around transit. Hobbs is a transit advocate who ensured extra stations in Kitchissippi for the City wide LRT project, and on the expansion of the O Train to ensure residents of Kitchissippi gain better use of the transit systems traversing the ward.
Parks have also been a priority. New park projects have included Evergreen Park, which incorporated the first dog run in the ward, and a $1 million upgrade of Fisher Park. Two fieldhouses are planned for 2014 in Reid Park in the Civic Hospital neighbourhood and in Westboro Beach.
Hobbs sits on numerous committees in the City, such as Planning Committee, Transit Commission and the Confederation Line working group, the Board of Health, Heritage Sub-Committee, Governance Committee, Development Charge Review Sub-Committee, Film Development Corporation Board and is a Westboro BIA board member and West Wellington BIA Board Member.
Hobbs was appointed City co-chair of the 2017 Committee, which is a group of key members of Ottawa's business community who are planning the celebrations for the 150th anniversary of Canada in Ottawa, an initiative to boost Ottawa's economic viability.