Long-time Ottawa businessman, broadcaster, and author, Mark Sutcliffe, is seeking to become the next mayor of Ottawa.

He was officially registered on Wednesday. Sutcliffe said in a press release announcing his candidacy.

"I have always considered Ottawa a great place to live and work. But we are about to face some new and significant challenges.

Our city is in an affordability crisis. Inflation is rising, and there are serious concerns about an imminent recession.

We are facing a reliability crisis in our public transit system, and we need to improve our roads.

On these issues and more, we need new leadership in Ottawa." This comes amid major changes in the Ottawa City Council, as Mayor Jim Watson and many current council members are not seeking re-election.

Sutcliffe has been a prominent figure in Ottawa’s business community. He founded the Ottawa Business Journal in 1995, spent many years as a radio host on Newstalk 580 CFRA and 1310 News, hosted a television show on CPAC and Rogers TV, wrote for the Ottawa Citizen, and served on the boards of many organizations in Ottawa.

He currently hosts the Digging Deep podcast. On his online platform, Sutcliffe says that if elected, he will "adequately fund our police, fire, and paramedic services and take a tough stance on the root causes of crime ... restore confidence in our public transit system, improve our roads....

Sutcliffe will be on the ballot alongside seven other candidates: Brandon Bay, Bob Chiarelli, Bernard Couchman, Graham MacDonald, Catherine McKenney, Addie Olumide, and Param Singh in the October 24 election. Chiarelli, former mayor of Ottawa, said on Twitter that he welcomes any participant in the mayoral race and looks forward to "a positive campaign for our citizens."