CODERRE STILL DOMINATES IN HIS CHÂTEAU FORT
Mayor popular as ever in this stronghold, although there are some who seek change
Montreal North, with its wide, tree-lined streets, rambling parks and commercial strips lined with mom and pop shops, seems a long way both figuratively and literally from the cobbled streets and ornate architecture around Montreal city hall.
If you want to talk to the people who put Denis Coderre in the mayor’s office four years ago about his chances of being re-elected on Nov. 5, this is the place to go.
On a recent weekday morning, shoppers filed in and out of Standa, a family-owned department store at the corner of St-Michel Blvd. and Fleury St. E. selling everything from espresso makers to evening gowns. Trucks stopped to deliver fresh bread at a halal butcher shop and dépanneur across the street. People double-parked to drop off used household items at a secondhand furniture shop.
Antonio Del Negro, 67, and Giovanna Del Negro, 63, walked in lockstep down Fleury. Their political views are also synchronized, they say, after 41 years of marriage.
The most pressing issue to them is the quality of the basic municipal services they get in exchange for their taxes, which they say have been on different trajectories in recent years.
Regarding snow removal, Antonio says: “Before it was fast, now we’re almost last.”
And all the roadwork makes getting around a headache, he added. “Now it’s faster to walk than drive.”
Still, the couple’s support for Coderre is unwavering.
“It’s not that we’re not happy with him … I don’t know if there’s anyone better,” said Antonio. “He takes care of things. So far, he’s good. For sure, I’m going to vote for him.”
“Same for me,” echoed Giovanna.
Montreal’s mayoral campaign officially got underway just over a week ago, but there are some parts of the city where the result already feels like a foregone conclusion.
There remains a strong sense of loyalty and affection for Coderre among residents in and around his former federal riding of Bourassa, in Montreal’s northeast, who helped propel him to victory in 2013 on an avalanche of support. The names of his challengers, Valérie Plante of Projet Montréal and Jean Fortier of Coalition Montréal, draw blank looks from some residents here.
In the borough of Montreal North, an astounding 66 per cent of the vote went to Coderre in 2013. In St-Léonard he took 55 per cent. In Rivière-des-Prairies-Pointe-aux-Trembles, Anjou and St-Laurent, he won more than 40 per cent of the vote.
It was on the shoulders of these voters — hard-working, middle-class, pragmatic — that Coderre came out on top in a four-way contest the first time around. And it’s the solid backing of many of these same Montrealers — who speak mainly French and a mosaic of other languages, from Italian to Creole to Arabic to Spanish — that could give him the edge this time around.
In the Plateau-Mont Royal and Rosemont–La-Petite-Patrie boroughs, where Coderre got the fewest votes in 2013, he might be the butt of jokes about his resemblance to a Minion after he dressed up in a HAZMAT suit to inspect sewer work. He might spawn eye-rolling over his populist antics, like when he took a jackhammer to the foundation of new Canada Post community mailbox to protest the possible end of home delivery. And he might have left a cloud of murkiness in the wake of the Formula E car race, including how much of the bill will be paid by the city.
But to the folks in Montreal North — where Coderre grew up, went to high school and still lives and from which he launched himself into the House of Commons and then city hall — he is the guy who shows up at the fundraising barbecue or the community festival. He is one of them and he is appreciated — warts and all.
“I can definitely say that I like him,” said Sabrina Pierre, 47. “He’s approachable, he’s nice, you can talk to him.”
As she crossed St-Michel Blvd. and Fleury St. E. to catch a bus, Pierre said she is “certainly” going to vote for Coderre.
Maria Tonico, 74, who lives in a residence for autonomous seniors in Montreal North, said people are generally satisfied with Coderre, even if he has some faults.
“At Christmas, he came to see us. He participated in the Christmas party with us at the residence,” she said. “He shook everyone’s hand. He listens — or at least he gives the impression he does.”
But Tonico says she wishes he wouldn’t be so dismissive of his opponents.
“When someone has something important to say, he needs to be less …” her voice trails off and she shakes her fist while grimacing. “He has to listen to people, even if he doesn’t like what they have to say.”
Nearby in St-Léonard, another château fort for Coderre in 2013, sentiments are similar.
“He does what he can,” said Marie Joseph, 72, walking along Jean-Talon St. E. near de L’Assomption Blvd. on a crisp fall morning. “People complain there’s always construction, construction. But if you don’t do repairs things just get worse and worse.”
Joseph said it’s easy to be in opposition and criticize, it’s quite another to be in power and have to confront the realities of running a city.
“Has he made mistakes? Sure,” she said. “He’s not perfect, but I’m going to give him my vote.”
For some, voting Coderre is simply a reflex.
“I like Mr. Coderre, I want him to stay,” said Mathurine Mavoungou, 53, running errands on Jean-Talon.
Why, she couldn’t quite say. “I don’t know, I just like him,” she said shrugging, before continuing on her way.
That doesn’t mean there’s not grumbling, however.
Iadh Hamri, a long-time resident of St-Léonard, just became a business owner a month ago when he opened Marché la fonda, a butcher shop and fish monger that also sells grilled meat platters.
He said Coderre might have done a pretty good job for citizens, but he has a new perspective now as a merchant dealing with the city. All the fees, taxes and permits required to open up feel like a shakedown, he said.
“Life is very difficult for business owners, very difficult,” said Hamri.
Arriving for work as a crossing guard outside École la Dauversière on Jean-Talon, Andres Longo said he has some big questions about city finances.
“It’s not that he’s doing a bad job, it’s just, money-wise, I find he’s spent a lot on things that aren’t really useful for the city,” he said, “like all the birthday celebrations and the lights on the bridge.”
This is particularly irksome for Longo, since crossing guards have been without a contract with the city for two years and are being told the cupboard is bare. He said he is interested in finding out more about the challengers.
But there may be an unexpected X factor that attracts even some stalwart Coderre supporters to Plante.
Back in Montreal North, Maryse Latour emerged from the kitchen of Alimentation des Caraïbes where she was preparing Haitian food for a hot lunch buffet. Even though she likes Coderre and thinks he’s doing “a pretty good job,” she doesn’t plan to vote for him this time.
“I’m voting for the girl,” said Latour, 69, with a wry smile. “I want to give a girl a turn.
“The vision of a woman is not the same as the vision of a man. … I don’t know what she’s going to bring, but I’m willing to give her a shot.”
It’s not that we’re not happy with him … I don’t know if there’s anyone better. He takes care of things. So far, he’s good. For sure, I’m going to vote for him.