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Rawlson King
Ottawa City Councillor
Assumed office
April 16, 2019
Preceded by Tobi Nussbaum
Constituency Rideau-Rockcliffe Ward
Personal details
Born Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Spouse Linda Grussani
Residence Overbrook

Rawlson O'Neil King is a Canadian politician, who was elected to Ottawa City Council in a by-election on April 15, 2019 and re-elected October 24, 2022. King is the city's first-ever Black Canadian city councillor.

Background

King was born and raised in Toronto and educated at Bayview Glen School. His parents were teachers from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and his father was born in Aruba. King holds both a combined bachelor of journalism with legal studies and a M.A. in communication from Carleton University.

King served as president of the Overbrook Community Association, a board member at the Rideau-Rockcliffe Community Resource Centre, and co-chair of the Ottawa Police Service Community Equity Council before his election to Council. He won a United Way Ottawa Community Builder of the Year Award in 2018.

Politics

King succeeded Tobi Nussbaum as councillor for Rideau-Rockcliffe Ward in the 2019 Rideau-Rockcliffe municipal by-election. King had previously run in Rideau-Rockcliffe in the 2010 municipal election and ran for a trustee seat on the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board in the 2018 municipal election. He was unsuccessful on both occasions.

In his successful by-election bid, King was endorsed by a number of high-profile progressives in Ottawa. Once elected, King identified his priorities as developing a poverty reduction strategy for impoverished neighbourhoods; working to improve roads, public transit and social services; and improving the relationship of people of colour with the police.

During his first term, King served as Chair of the Built Heritage Sub-Committee and on the Standing Committee on Environmental Protection, Water and Waste Management. He also served on the boards of Crime Prevention Ottawa, Ottawa Community Housing Corporation, Ottawa Community Lands Development Corporation and Quartier Vanier BIA. He was formerly on the Ottawa Police Services Board, before resigning in protest following the removal of board chair Diane Deans in the wake of Ottawa "Freedom Convoy".

To advance anti-racism and race relations initiatives in 2020, King was appointed Council Liaison for Anti-Racism and Ethnocultural Relations Initiatives, where he was successful in establishing an anti-racism office and the city's first anti-racism strategy.

He was re-elected in a landslide victory in 2022 with over 80 percent of the popular vote in a four-person field and a 72 percent margin of victory.

Duing his second term, King was appointed Chair of the Built Heritage Committee and served on the Finance and Corporate Services Committee, Environment and Climate Change Committee, and the Community Services Committee. He was also appointed to the boards of Ottawa Public Health, the Ottawa Public Library and Quartier Vanier BIA. King was also reappointed Council Liaison for the City’s Anti-Racism and Ethnocultural Relations Initiatives, leading the implementation of the City of Ottawa's Anti-Racism Strategy.

King endorsed Yasir Naqvi in his candidacy for leader of the Ontario Liberal Party in the 2023 Ontario Liberal Party leadership election.

Electoral record

2022 Ottawa municipal election

ed {{{2}}}
Candidate Popular vote Expenditures
Votes  % ±%
Rawlson King (X) 8,481 80.14 +61.78
Clayton Fitzsimmons 859 8.12
Peter Jan Karwacki 716 6.77 +6.19
Peter Zanette 527 4.98
Total valid votes 10,583 94.36
Total rejected, unmarked and declined votes 633 5.64
Turnout 11,216 39.74 +2.59
Eligible voters 28,220
Note: Candidate campaign colours are based on the prominent colour used in campaign items (signs, literature, etc.)
and are used as a visual differentiation between candidates.

2019 Rideau-Rockcliffe by-election

Rideau-Rockcliffe (Ward 13)
Candidate Votes %
Rawlson King 1,529 18.36
Jamie Kwong 1,406 16.88
Penny Thompson 851 10.22
Marc Dorgeville 794 9.53
Sheila Perry 742 8.91
Maurice Lamirande 708 8.5
Johan Hamels 665 7.98
Kasia Adamiec 507 6.09
Chris Penton 441 5.29
Oriana Ngabirano 247 2.97
Patrick Mayangi 135 1.62
Miklos Horvath 89 1.07
Peter Heyck 58 0.7
Peter Jan Karwacki 48 0.58
Jerry Kovacs 46 0.55
Idris Ben-Tahir 35 0.42
Bruce A. Faulkner 29 0.35

2018 Ottawa municipal election

Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (Zone 12)
Candidate Votes %
Sandra Schwartz (X) 7,265 74.31
Rawlson King 2,511 25.69

2010 Ottawa municipal election

Rideau-Rockcliffe (Ward 13)
Candidate Votes %
Peter D. Clark 2,722 25.84
Maurice Lamirande 1,835 17.42
Sheila Perry 1,709 16.22
Bruce Poulin 1,695 16.09
Richard Cannings 1,333 12.65
Corry Burke 438 4.16
Rawlson King 380 3.61
Pierre Maheu 224 2.13
Harley Collison 129 1.22
James Parker 69 0.66
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