Across The Table with Dionysius
Welcome to 'Across the Table with Dionysius,' where your host Dion Williams, a Mortgage Agent from Ottawa, Ontario, takes you on an exciting journey. Our podcast brings you the voices of leaders and professionals from across Canada, providing exclusive insights into trending topics and critical issues. Our mission is clear: to keep Canadian residents informed through the experiences and knowledge of our remarkable guests."
Across The Table with Dionysius
Ottawa Election 2026: Nicholas Gollé, Somerset Ward
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Nicholas Gollé joins the show to discuss his platform for the Somerset Ward race. Hear his vision for the community.
As we approach the October 2026 municipal elections in Somerset Ward, voters need a clear picture of who is running for office. In this episode of Across the Table with Dionysius, we sit down with Nicholas Gollé to discuss his priorities and the changes he wants to bring to our community.
This conversation focuses on his specific candidate platform and his approach to representing residents. We are speaking with everyone running in the race to help you make an informed decision when you head to the polls. Understanding municipal politics is essential for the future of our city.
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Connect with Nicholas Gollé
Website - https://nicholasgolle4somersetward.ca
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/nicholasgolle4somersetward
Find Dion at the following:
DION WILLIAMS
Mortgage Agent
Website - williamsmortgage.ca
Email - dion@williamsmortgage.ca
Phone - 613-902-2313
Welcome And Ground Rules
SPEAKER_00Welcome to Across the Table Podcast. I'm your host, Dionysius, and today we have a unique conversation. Ahead of the October 2026 municipal elections, I decided to invite all the candidates running for office and have a conversation with them. Today we have Nicholas Golet from Ward 14 in Somerset Ward to sit down and chat with us. And I'm excited to have a conversation with them. But before we get into the conversation, I just want to give you some context of the conversation itself. So every candidate that sits down, decides to sit down and have a conversation with me gets the same 15 questions in the same order. There's no endorsements, no payment, and nobody sees the edits. After this is done, it goes to the editor and it's released online. So with that being said, Nicholas, welcome to the show. Thank you for inviting me. No problem.
Why Housing Costs So Much
SPEAKER_00First question: What is the single biggest reason housing costs so much in your award? And what would you do about it in your first year in council?
SPEAKER_01So, really the biggest thing, I apologize is a bit abstract, but it really is the COVID pandemic and the uh pressures that that put on supply, on labor, and all those other things. We're still experiencing that to this day, right? Uh, it's kind of that cascading effect. And what would I do in that first year? Uh, are actually, if you look at the city of Ottawa, it's doing a lot of the right things, uh, in my opinion, in regards to zoning, in regards to working with the federal government to get uh funding from Built Canada homes and all that. So to me, it's more about hey, that's what we have right now. How do we track what's working and spin out new things? And how do we find where the gaps currently exist that what we have isn't meeting? That involves like talking to the developers and getting the data of people who are looking for homes and seeing, hey, what can we do? Because really, in the first year, that's really all you can do. I think if you uh I'm not an expert on anything, I don't propose to be, but that's the right way of going about these things. Tracking our current approach and also seeing where there's rooms for exactly.
Where Density Should Go
SPEAKER_00Um Ottawa has committed to more homes inside existing neighborhoods. Where in your wards should new density go? And maybe more important for some people, where should it stay off the table?
SPEAKER_01Well, uh again, I really the city actually isn't stupid, it turns out. Our institutions aren't stupid. Uh uh, the current planning is already for this extreme high density along uh transit corridors. And you see this if you go to uh Queen and Lion Street, you'll see that there's about like six massive developments going up, uh 20 plus stories, you know. And that's right. They what they're trying to do is say, hey, we want to put high density where people will not need a vehicle, right? Uh that's absolutely good. And then they already have the additional thing of uh, I think if you have an existing zoning area, they can do increased density in like neighborhood neighborhoods, right? Without the the change. That's right, uh as well. You know, uh some people might say, hey, it changes the the neighborhood, but really if you live downtown and you live in the ward, that's not gonna change um the character of the neighborhood, and we need to do that really. Um off the table, I really don't I don't see that, you know. Uh they already have the restrictions on that increased zoning, just uh an aside on that, of like where the infrastructure can meet that increased density, right? So it's like they gave that blanket approval, but actually it's that blanket approval of hey, can the can we do this without having to redo the pipes kind of thing? Okay. So I I really think the the city's on the right track for that. It's just about the market meeting that uh incentive.
Approvals And Building Faster
SPEAKER_00Um what would you change about how the city approves new homes, additions, or renovations?
SPEAKER_01I you know, I'm gonna say right now, the city's already doing this, they've got the pre-approvals for uh already existing things, they've streamlined things. Obviously, you have the fact that we can always increase the timeline or decrease the timeline for approvals, right? And give clear uh free like such that someone who wants to do a development can know what they have to do to get that approval. Right, the time. Uh, and then regarding timelines, that's just we already have a dashboard. I believe the city, if you go look, they have the dashboard on all approvals, all submitted things, and the how many are outside the 30-day approval range and how many are. We're hitting a very good target on that. Obviously, it can go better, and that target of 30 days can be increased. You know, there's another side there, which is you have all these approvals in uh since 2023 to 2026, there's been over 10,000 approvals for new residential, or I say approvals that meet that create 10,000 additional domiciles in Centertown.
SPEAKER_00Okay.
SPEAKER_01Uh, but not all have started due to financing uh concerns. So really uh it there's nothing uh innovative to do there other than drill down on these, right? Okay.
A 15 Minute Ward Vision
SPEAKER_00Um moving on to growth. Picture your ward 10 years from now with council having made all the right decisions. What does that look like and describe it to me?
SPEAKER_01It I don't want to sound like a World Economic Forum like a plant or whatever, but 15-minute city, the fact that you can have a variety of income levels living in the same region uh with different needs and being able to go take transit, walk, cycle to where they have, uh get their needs met within that 15-minute thing, and be able to choose their mode of transit and have a degree of safety, whether they go play in the park or have a business that they want to run or work at, that's what I'm looking at, you know. If everything goes right, that's what that's what that you know that that would be the the goal.
SPEAKER_00Right, true.
Paying For Roads Pipes Parks
SPEAKER_00Um, new growth, it needs roads, pipes, parks. How should the city pay for these things?
SPEAKER_01Uh, you know, really you have the capital costs, which previously was through development charges, a certain portion of it. Yeah, and unfortunately the city is putting that, uh decreasing those or deferring those payments to increase supply because it's a much more urgent issue. Uh to me, it's all options are on the table. I don't care how we do it, we have to pay for that in some way because it will be more expensive the longer we wait, right? So I'm not a like singular, this is the singular solution. I'm more about saying, hey, if we're doing this, making this trade-off of allowing developers to in in effect, we're subsidizing new construction. In effect, we're subsidizing new construction because the even reason why that construction is viable is because we're putting those pipes, we're building that infrastructure to manage the growth. But to me, it's we have to get an accounting of that and say, we have to do this because we're gonna pay more tomorrow, and we shouldn't be looking at these as things that can be deferred. You know, I'm a millennial, I get very annoyed that you know the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, second best time is today, and the trees were not planted 20 years ago. If we're making these decisions, we have to really be honest with taxpayers and say we have to pay for this. However, whether that be, you know, I know the mayor says other people say, like, we'll get it from the federal government, we'll get it from the provincial. Well, you have to have a degree of options, and you pursue every single one in parallel. And if it comes down to running a free, if if we got to do bake sales, I'm down for that. Okay, it wouldn't we just need that money. It it really depends, it's a dynamic situation, right? Uh, and it is at this moment, we would have liked to it to be development charges, we can't do that because we're gonna impact supply, and that's a much bigger issue. Okay, increase taxes, increase we we have to be honest with people that this is the cost of maintaining the city and the city thriving. That increased density is going to pay in the future through taxes, you know. Uh so you know, but we have to be honest uh regarding that, you know. So, really, I I I apologize there's no singular prescription, it's more about addressing defining that problem and pursuing it aggressively.
Sidewalk Accessibility As Basic Service
SPEAKER_00Um name one service your ward is missing today that girls should have already paid for.
SPEAKER_01If you say service, um okay, I'm gonna annoy uh some people here, but like in our ward, there are sidewalks, and I know this is more a capital thing, but sidewalks that are just completely impassable with people with disabilities. There are grannies who basically in the winter to go live their daily life outside, it's not possible. Uh it's a mix of snow clearing, and with the sidewalk just hasn't been smoothened such that someone with a walker or a mobility device, that's unacceptable because that is a base function of transit, right? In my opinion, growth should have been, you know, uh really uh that that that that's absolutely unacceptable.
SPEAKER_00Um moving on to transit.
Transit Reliability And Bike Safety
SPEAKER_00Um what would have to change for more people in your ward to choose OC transport?
SPEAKER_01You're gonna hear it from every single candidate, I bet, which is reliability, right? People need to be able to trust that they can get to work at the same time every day, you know, that they can get a plan an appointment to the doctor using transit. It really is reliability. Um the cost is there, but we have supplements for people who can't afford it, you know. So it really is the reliability. Can I use this to actually build my life or can I get rid of my car? Can I, you know what I mean? And and use this. That's a big risk to me right now.
SPEAKER_00Um, name one transit fix in your ward you would push the hardest for over the next four years.
SPEAKER_01Okay. I'm gonna put the reliability aside because that's citywide, specific to the ward. I would say uh explicitly the bike, well, okay, there's two things in competition here. That sidewalk issue that I just described, that's very granular in the ward, and then uh the bike safety. We've had a lot of actual uh cycling deaths this year in intersections that have been cycling safe to like made safe, and uh we really have to aggressively pursue that. Um you know, look at hey, why did the city say this is safe and why is that control not uh actually meeting its objective, right?
SPEAKER_00Um yeah, yeah. Um transit funding is tight across the city. What should council prioritize as it works through the next budget?
SPEAKER_01Uh, you know, can you uh kind of clarify what you mean by that?
SPEAKER_00So, for example, the sidewalk you mentioned is granular. What should council as a whole across the city focus on when it comes to transit?
SPEAKER_01We're gonna go back to that reliability thing, OC Transvo. And um, you know, you might have other candidates say very very specific uh solutions, right? Um, I'm a person who really understands you probably your city councilor probably is not the transit guru, you know. Uh what is important there is for city council to accept that public transit is another solution on top of our roads for getting throughput on from point A to point B, basically. And we have to treat that like a piece of our infrastructure rather than a business, you know, and rather than a service. That needs to change because once you make that change in intent, then your policies start to change from thinking, oh, this private corporation, we have to increase our fire revenue. You know what I mean? Like, no, this is how we get people from point A to point B. Yeah. And in the same way that the road is the base level of that, our I'm gonna say, I said our roads aren't gonna get any wider. Some guy actually said we could get rid of the sidewalks, but you'd be stuck in with that increased density. Uh, I think we're we're planning for 50,000 more people in center town itself in the next decade. Uh well, I don't think anyone wants all those people in a car, right? And we need to focus on reliability. To me, that means uh city council focusing on giving the mandate and funding for that, because we need people to start, the consumer to start treating transit as an equal mode of transit, transport as a car. Right. Yes, I really think that that that's a core thing, changing that assumption. Yeah.
Public Safety And Supportive Housing
SPEAKER_00Um moving on to safety. Um you've kind of touched on this. What does safety mean to residents in your ward, and where does the current approach maybe fall short?
SPEAKER_01Uh so safety means just being able to live your life without even having to worry about it. You know, uh in our ward, the current approach is failing in two aspects. There's that transit aspect that I described, yeah, where the human experience isn't meeting the instant the institutional response isn't addressing the human experience where people are saying, hey, this thing doesn't work. And then there's the other aspect of the general public safety issues that are in the ward, such as, you know, I live on Somerset Street, kids walk to a school from at 7 a.m. or whatever, and you'll see uh needles on the ground or whatever, right? Or there are people who have untreated uh mental illnesses who are unfortunately having uh public episodes that really it even if it's not a threat to someone, it generates the sense of my life is in danger, fear. And that and that's different, you know, if you talk to some people at their doorsteps, they're like, well, I I'm not afraid of that. But they recognize other people are, yeah, right. Uh and and that has a huge effect on the kind of public trust uh there, you know, to go back to uh the transit thing, how can uh people trust that the government is going to deliver reliable tril public transit if it can't secure that feeling of public safety?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you know, no, that that's right. Yeah, I I I agree with you on that one. Uh road safety, policing, and community services all shape how safe award feels. Yep. Where do you see the biggest need in yours?
SPEAKER_01Uh I, you know, you if you already interviewed Michael Tay, I would say when he speaks about this, he is so much more eloquent about it. And I, you know, a part of my point is I see someone like him speaking, I'm like, yeah, I agree with all of that. Right now, the biggest drain or I see drain is we need full wraparound supportive housing for that subset of the population that is the majority of these public issues, right? Uh, we need that that will decrease our drain uh the decrease the pressures on our emergency services or present a much higher uh sense of that public safety because the person with you know untreated schizophrenia who's in the streets who every day they're gonna have an out like every X amount of days. I'm not blaming them just to be weary for their sickness. But but like there's nothing, you know, that needs to happen. Yeah, because that is a gap in our service, uh, in our set of services that is putting so much pressure on all these other things, and there's not really a solution because if you arrest these people, you're basically punishing them for their circumstance in life, and they're not really doing anything that's gonna get them off the streets. Uh yeah, you're just gonna release them and put them back out, yeah, exactly. And that and it's not again, what's happening there is the government's failing. Uh yeah, and I think that's the number one need.
SPEAKER_00Um getting close to wrapping this
Work Style And Problem Solving
SPEAKER_00up. What experience in your own life or career do you draw on most? And how would that show up in the way you work at the council table?
SPEAKER_01Um, you know, it's uh I I would say it's almost the cumulative experience of my life, right? Uh I'm always engaging in kind of an internal uh dialectic of, hey, what are my current assumptions? Are they responsible are they matched with reality and synthesizing that to a new understanding? Uh when it comes to that, I have a background in well, my education was in computer engineering. I did not get a job in that. But in my career, it's always been about uh in IT has been about defining a problem, generating a public understanding across all stakeholders. And it I don't care about being right. I care about improving our understanding of problems and moving them forward one step forward, you know? Uh that is the experience I draw on is a complex problem can be broken down into a subset of like a bunch of small decomposed is the term, a bunch of smaller, simpler problems, and addressing each of those individually and kind of moving them all at different levels while attacking them all in parallel. And the other aspect there is working with people who I disagree with on specific technical details, right? How do you get stuck on, you know, if you always abstract back to the intent, we all want this project to move forward or we all want to meet this end goal. Why are we stuck on this specific implementation? And if that's holding back everything else, um, okay, let's figure out how to put this aside, you know? Uh, it really is that experience of working with stakeholders in technical domains. I don't know their technical details, but being able to extract what uh type of information needs to come out of that and working with other people in that same thing and bringing people together to move everything forward. Yes. Uh yes.
Chinatown Picks And Rapid Fire
SPEAKER_00Um, a couple of rapid fire questions. Um, where in your ward, if I was a visitor, where would you take Chinatown?
SPEAKER_01I live there, so I'm very biased. So I apologize to anyone else in my ward who is like, no, my neighborhood is the nicest. And I'm I'm explicitly ignoring the NCC infrastructure because I that's cheating, in my opinion. Otherwise, I would say that but Chinatown is really like it's vibrant. Yeah, there it has its problems, but like it really is. And the restaurants are like, I love all the restaurants, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Nice. Um, one thing you would fix tomorrow if it needed no approval. That supportive housing thing that I'm trying to just get that. Yeah. Um, and final question: what do people outside your ward get wrong about your ward?
SPEAKER_01Um there's two two things I would say. People see the sense of like uh poverty or whatever that we experience in the ward. That's because we have all these services here, but our ward actually they they seem to infer that our ward isn't paying towards the city. Um, our ward pays nearly double in property taxes than the next ward in the list, I think. Uh 210 million. I think the next one is like 100 something million. Um, and the other aspect would be the public safety aspect. It's very shocking to people who aren't there and normalizing it, but you're actually not not in that much danger. You know what I mean? And that is absolutely like uh their perception of it is so much worse than what it actually is, which affects them coming to the ward and engaging and visiting businesses or restaurants, actually.
Where To Find Nicholas
SPEAKER_00Um, Nicholas, thank you. I enjoyed that conversation. Um, where can people find you?
SPEAKER_01At my website, uh Nicholas Gole for SomersetWard.ca. Um I have an Instagram, but I have not uploaded video. It's very busy. Uh you know, I I I need to start recording videos before I go out canvassing because at the end of the day I'm like, all right, time to record a video. And I'm like, yeah. But uh really my website, my emails there, contact me if you live in the ward. Hopefully I'll visit you at your doorstep. But uh statistically that might be an impossibility before the election. Uh no, that that's all. Thank you.
SPEAKER_00Well, thank you, and uh, we'll see you in the next one. Thank you.