According to the Ottawa Citizen Bloess, along with councilor Jan Harder, are sometimes called the councils "official opposition."
He once initiated a controversial motion that would have required that all residents use Ottawa in their postal address, rather than the names of their former communities.
Bloess was an opponent of the city's O-Train light-rail extension from downtown Ottawa to Barrhaven.
On December 7, 2006, council voted in favor by a margin of 12–11 to pursue the project without the downtown segment.
When O'Brien modified his position to be against it because of insufficient funding, a new vote was held in which Bloess was present that officially derailed the project on December 14 by a margin of 13–11.