Computer programmer Kevin O’Donnell will be the Green party candidate for Ottawa-Centre in the next provincial election, after winning an uncontested ballot Wednesday night.

While O’Donnell was the only candidate to run, a ballot still had to be held according to party rules. The alternative for voters was “None of the above.”

Green Party of Ontario leader Mike Schreiner attended the packed nomination meeting at the Blue Nile restaurant on Gladstone Avenue at Percy Street, and endorsed O’Donnell as a driver in the campaign against the Liberal proposal to cut the solar microFit program.  

“He was willing to stand out there, stand up for people, and fight for what was right,” said Schreiner.

He announced O’Donnell as the winner, but declined to say how many, if any, “None of the above” votes were returned.

O’Donnell, a former president of national and provincial riding associations, said energy conservation will be his focus in the time before the election, supporting a green building program as a way to create jobs and save energy.

He said government almost had it right with the Green Energy Act, but added it was a mistake to change it without consulting industry.

Ottawa doesn’t have a sitting Green MPP currently, but O’Donnell said he wants his riding to know the party is a professional group that’s ready to represent them.

“We want that challenge,” he said.