Meeting the candidate: Catherine McKenney sits down with Capital Eats

The original idea was to meet with the top three mayoral candidates to hear them speak about everyday things and what they most love about Ottawa. The questions for all three would be the same in order to give our readers a slightly different perspective on these politicians.

Catherine and I agreed to meet at a coffee shop on Preston Street and as I anticipated, there they were locking up their bicycle. It was a moment that reminded me of running into Jack Layton during my Toronto years. There he'd be on his bike waiting at a red light alongside me or standing next to me on a crowded streetcar. In other words: a politician who actually lived what they preached.

Introductions made, we grabbed our coffees and sat at an outside table. It was a lovely afternoon and our conversation was briefly interrupted by the summer sounds of construction. We talked at length on a wide variety of topics before I came round to finally asking the pertinent questions.

Catherine grew up on the Quebec side, in the Pontiac village of Fort Coulonge and eventually attended the University of Ottawa to study political science.

Managing the Ottawa bureau of VoicePrint Canada (a non-profit service that broadcast top stories into homes of people with special needs) Catherine interviewed then-Kanata councilor Alex Munter. Not long after, they found themselves working on Alex's next campaign.

From our conversation, what stood out for me was the underlying message of commitment to service.

RJ: At this point in your career, are there accomplishments of which you're particularly proud?

CM: “I would say that working for Alex Munter and acting as assistant to [former Somerset Ward councilor] Diane Holmes were special highlights.”

We could have talked politics all day but that wasn't the objective so we slowly got to the core questions:

RJ: What do you cherish about Ottawa?

Without missing a beat —

CM: “The Ottawa River. In fact all the natural aspects of Ottawa”

Catherine was equally quick to reply when I asked them about their favourite cuisine and I was not shocked to learn, given our locale, that the answer was “Italian.”

They have an affinity for Neapolitan style pizza with a current favourite being Del Piacere on Preston Street. We had a brief meeting of the minds on this, each of us extolling the virtues of their pizza.

RJ: Do you have a favourite country for wine?

CM: “I prefer red wines so I lean towards California or Chile.”

RJ: When the family goes out to eat, what are the favourite restaurants?

CM: “Either Kiko Sushi here on Preston or Pubwells when we want something homey.”

RJ: How about date night spots?

Again, as if anticipating my question, the answer came like a flash.

CM: “Union 613 and I love going to the Bytowne Theatre”.

I asked about their reading preferences when it comes to books, but over the last while that interest has been replaced with newspapers and magazines. An understandable enough shift when you need to stay current with municipal affairs.

Favourite music? It wasn't much of a surprise when they confessed to unwinding with classical music at home but when they mentioned country music, well I must have done a double-take because Catherine's smile was almost sheepish. In particular, they have an endless appreciation for two greats: Charlie Pride and Lucinda Williams.

It was a most enjoyable 90 minutes and I was grateful that Catherine chose to spend this time with me exchanging thoughts on politics, food, drink and leisure time.

Before we parted, they had a final tip for me.

“Stay Gold on Elgin Street. It's Detroit-style pizza. I think you might like it.”