Ootes obtained a Master of Business Administration degree from York University, and served several years as an executive with Imperial Oil.

Johnson was elected mayor of East York, and in 1988, he convinced Ootes to run for city council.

However the Conservative money and supporters mostly went towards former Rogers Cable President & CEO John Tory, and Ootes chose not to run.

Ootes was replaced as deputy mayor by Joe Pantalone, Sandra Bussin, and Mike Feldman jointly for the next council term.

Ootes ran in the 2006 municipal election with the slogan "Proven Leadership", defeating Diane Alexopoulos by twenty votes.

[6] After the 2010 Toronto municipal elections, mayor-elect Rob Ford selected Ootes to chair his transition team.