Jan Harder

Jan Harder (born, 1951 in Ottawa) is an Ottawa City Councillor representing the ward of Barrhaven. She is the appointed chair of the Ottawa Public Library board, which sets policy and has the ultimate say in decisions affecting the library system.

Born in Ottawa, she spent her youth in a number of different Ontario cities. Trained as a radiological technician, she eventually became an executive in the grocery business.

She first entered politics in 1997 when she was elected to Nepean city council. With the creation of the new amalgamated city of Ottawa in 2000, Harder ran against regional councillor Molly McGoldrick-Larsen. While the race was expected to be close, Harder ended up winning by several thousand votes.

One of her first efforts on city council was the successful campaign to replace the new coat of arms with that of the old city of Ottawa. She also led a campaign to have filters installed on computers in the public libraries that would keep users from accessing pornography. Controversy broke out when she was reported as referring to those who support extending mass transit to rural areas as "friggin yahoos." She also was criticized for blaming crime in her ward on "non-whites coming into our community looking to cause trouble." Despite these difficulties she was reelected in the 2003 Ottawa election, by defeating newcomer John R. Palmer.

In the November 2006 municipal elections, Harder retained her position as councillor with 75% of the vote in Barrhaven Ward.

Jan was criticized for the appearance of a conflict of interest for having accepted a free corporate box seat at the 2007 Stanley Cup NHL hockey playoff game (Senators v.s. Anaheim Ducks) at Scotiabank Place from Waste Management Services -- a company that the City does business with. (Ottawa Sun, June 11, 2007).

Harder is heavily active in Conservative politics and in the past mused about running federally in her riding. Her daughter, Elena ran for the vacant Orléans Ward seat in a by-election in January, 2006, but was unsuccessful.

External links

* [http://www.janharder.com/ Official site]
* [http://ottawa.ca/city_hall/mayor_council/councillors/j_harder_en.html City biography]
* [http://www.ottawa.ca/calendar/ottawa/citycouncil/occ/2005/11-09/minutes45.htm Pesticide Vote]
* [http://ottsun.canoe.ca/News/BreakingNews/2007/06/11/4253235.html City to review ethics and gifts policy By DEREK PUDDICOMBE, Sun Media]