Carol Anne Meehan

Carol Anne Meehan
Television screen capture of Carol Anne Meehan, May 2003
Ottawa City Councillor
In office
December 1, 2018 – November 15, 2022[1]
Preceded byMichael Qaqish
Succeeded bySteve Desroches
ConstituencyGloucester-South Nepean Ward
Personal details
Born (1956-12-17) December 17, 1956 (age 67)
Political partyConservative Party of Canada
SpouseGreg Etue (d. 2012)[2]
WebsiteOfficial website

Carol Anne Meehan (born December 17, 1956) is a former Ottawa City Councillor and former news anchor at CJOH.[3]

Biography

[edit]

She is a graduate of Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University) and began her career at CHRO in Pembroke, Ontario, the city where she grew up. She also worked in Sudbury, Edmonton and Calgary. In 1989, she began co-anchoring the CJOH Ottawa evening news, then known as Newsline, alongside Max Keeping. She was laid off on November 17, 2015, by station owner Bell Media. Following her departure from CJOH she joined 1310 News as a talk-show host. She left 1310 News in November 2017.[4]

In January 2012, her missing husband was found dead in Brudenell, Ontario.[2]

She lives on the Rideau River near Manotick with her two children.[5]

Political career

[edit]

Meehan won a seat on Ottawa City Council in Gloucester-South Nepean Ward in the 2018 municipal election, defeating incumbent councillor Michael Qaqish by over 500 votes. She received endorsements from prominent local conservatives including councillor Jan Harder, former councillor Steve Desroches and senator Marjory LeBreton.[6] When she was a teenager, she was a "young Liberal".[7]

In October 2018, shortly after her election, Meehan received media attention for an online confrontation with a constituent. The constituent was raising concerns about OC Transpo bus service in the ward. Meehan responded to the constituent "I would love to have a face to face, because you certainly like to slam me here. Let's see what kind of guts you have. I have the guts and courage to succeed YOU will never have." Meehan also divulged the constituent's street on Facebook, reportedly responding "Give me your address, or I will go and find you on [street name], it's not that long a street."[8][5] Meehan subsequently apologized and removed the Facebook posts.[9]

While on council, Meehan often voted against mayor Jim Watson's bloc, which has been called the "Watson club".[10]

On February 16, 2022, Meehan resigned from her position on the Ottawa Police Services Board.[11] She announced that she would not seek re-election in the 2022 municipal election on July 25, 2022.[12]

On July 29, 2024, Meehan announced she would be seeking the Conservative Party of Canada nomination in the riding of Ottawa West—Nepean for the next Canadian federal election.[13] However, just 12 days later on August 9, she decided against running.[14]

Election results

[edit]
Council candidate Vote %
    Carol Anne Meehan 5,960 42.55
    Michael Qaqish (X) 5,420 38.69
    Harpreet Singh 2,152 15.36
    Zaff Ansari 358 2.56
    Irene Mei 118 0.84

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Mark Sutcliffe laces up for new political marathon". CTV Ottawa. 25 October 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  2. ^ a b Robb, Peter (January 31, 2012). "Ottawa CTV anchor Carol Anne Meehan's missing husband found dead, foul play not suspected: Police". National Post. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  3. ^ "Carol Anne Meehan, Carolyn Waldo laid off from CTV News Ottawa". Ottawa, ON: CBC. 18 November 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  4. ^ Sherring, Susan (10 May 2016). "Sherring: Carol Anne Meehan 'thrilled' to join 1310". Ottawa Sun. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  5. ^ a b Laucius, Joanne (31 October 2018). "Carol Anne Meehan has had a very bad day — but she vows to do better". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  6. ^ "Carol Anne Meehan Taking Political Plunge". 27 July 2018. Archived from the original on 1 December 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  7. ^ "Ottawa Votes: What you need to know about Gloucester-South Nepean's candidates".
  8. ^ Porter, Kate (30 October 2018). "Meehan crossed a line with angry Facebook response, resident says". CBC. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  9. ^ Raymond, Ted (30 October 2018). "Councillor-election Carol Anne Meehan apologizes for overly aggressive Facebook post". 580 CFRA. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  10. ^ "ANALYSIS: Can a councillor make 'Watson club' stick during the fall session at city hall?". ottawacitizen.com.
  11. ^ "Ottawa police board chair ousted in dramatic city council meeting".
  12. ^ "Carol Anne Meehan not running again for Ottawa city council". CBC. 25 July 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  13. ^ "Meehan seeks to become Conservative candidate for Ottawa West-Nepean". Ottawa Citizen. 29 July 2024. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  14. ^ "Meehan no longer running for Conservative candidacy in Ottawa West-Nepean". CTV News. 9 August 2024. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
[edit]