George Darouze
George Darouze (born November 1964) is the Ottawa City Councillor for Osgoode Ward. He was elected for the first time in the 2014 Ottawa municipal election. Darouze immigrated from Lebanon in 1990, settling in the community of Greely, Ontario in Osgoode Township, which would be amalgamated into Ottawa in 2001. Darouze graduated from Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts with a degree in Telecommunications. After moving to Canada, he worked in a number of odd-jobs such as busboy, baker, dishwasher and fast food employee before purchasing a pizzeria. Later, he became a sales representative for a Bell Mobility  dealer, which led him to work in a number of managerial positions for various telecommunications companies. He speaks English, French and Arabic. He is the former president of the Ottawa-Carleton Snowmobile Trail Club. Darouze has supported Conservative Member of Parliament Pierre Poilievre, as well as the previous councillor for Osgoode Ward, Doug Thompson. After deciding not to run for re-election in 2014, Thompson in turned endorsed Darouze, helping him to claim his seat. Thompson had previously stated he would remain neutral. Darouze, along with Laura Dudas and Matthew Luloff was appointed as a deputy mayor of the city  in December 2018. In 2020, Darouze was caught texting while driving while livestreaming as part of a virtual meeting of the city's audit committee. Darouze indicated he had done so "inadvertently." He has since apologized. In his newsletter of June 15, 2018, Darouze indicated that at a local school he had "greeted students and parents and handed out decals and printed materials as they arrived at school, bringing awareness to the dangers of texting and driving." Committees. As of September 2021, Darouze sits on the following Committees and Boards of Directors: Volunteering and awards. Darouze has volunteered with the  Greely Winter Carnival, the Osgoode Village and Metcalfe Santa Claus Parades, the Vernon Arts and Crafts Show, and the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation. In 2011, Darouze was awarded Volunteer of the Year by the Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs. George’s extensive volunteer work was also recognized in 2011 when he received the Osgoode Ward Community Volunteer Award, and in 2012 when he became a Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal recipient. Integrity commissioner investigation and lawsuit. According to CBC News, Darouze "tried to silence a woman who criticized him on social media during last fall's  municipal election by  writing to her husband's boss, the chief of police, according to a scathing report from the city's integrity commissioner." The complaint was received on March 12, 2019. The commissioner stated that "on a balance of probabilities, I find that the major motivation of the councillor was to bully and intimidate the complainants and each of them in the hope that female complainant might cease her critical Facebook commentary of him." The commissioner further wrote that it was written "for the primary reason of silencing the female complainant and causing the male complainant grief in his workplace." Darouze was  criticized online over the matter. The matter is ongoing (as of September 22, 2021); the complainant and her husband have filed a lawsuit against Darouze for alleged damages, as reported on June 19, 2020. Following the commissioner's report, Darouze had emailed the couple that he was "truly sorry" that they "perceived" his actions as harassment. On February 24, 2021 (Anti-Bullying Day), Darouze posted on his Facebook page "let's all be mindful to to stand up against bullying today and everyday, all year!" Political positions. Dissenting votes. From 2014 through March 30, 2021, there were 3,528 votes held . Of these, 35 votes were instances where Darouze dissented from the majority. Some of those instances follow. Electoral history. After eight months of campaigning and knocking on over 9,000 doors, Darouze was elected as a first time councillor in the 2014 municipal election for Osgoode Ward. He won with 1,783 votes and 21.06% in a crowded race. Darouze was re-elected in the 2018 municipal election as the councillor for Osgoode Ward. According to Horizon Ottawa, Darouze received $20,100 in campaign contributions from individuals connected to the real estate development industry, totaling 78% of contributions. Almost half of elected  councillors also received the majority of their campaign contributions from such individuals.