Three mayoral candidates in Richmond
upswing, and I want to lead that charge,” Hélène Tousignant said, describing her community involvement and background in communications and project management.
Bertrand Ménard described himself as a family man with a strong business background. He described his leadership philosophy as follows: Running a town is not a job for seven people; it’s a job for everyone, Ménard said, explaining decisions should come from the bottom, not from upstairs.
Pierre Grégoire, the youngest of the three candidates at only 46, was born and raised in Richmond. He attended Bishop’s and the University of Sherbrooke, studying business administration, marketing and political science. He said that his experience as a councillor in Richmond makes him a good candidate for mayor, and suggested he could bring a new vision and way of doing things to the municipality.
Tousignant and Ménard gave bilingual introductions; Grégoire spoke in French only, but did address an English question in English later in the evening.
The debate consisted of nine questions submitted by members of the public.
Each candidate gave an answer, and then an optional six minutes of debate followed.
The questions covered a number of different topics ranging from what spending the candidates felt should be a priority with public funds to the environment, support for the Centre d’art,low income housing and infrastructure concerns.
Overall, Tousignant described a longterm vision for Richmond capitalizing on the cultural diversity of the community to attract tourism. She also said economic development was an important aspect for the community to thrive, as was a plan to revamp the downtown core to attract new residents and businesses.
Ménard’s focus leaned towards the development of Richmond’s industrial park and the diversification of businesses in the municipality. With job creation as a priority, Ménard said his leadership would be one of consultation with the public to make decisions in the interest of the population.
“The future in four years is you,” Ménard said. “You have to get involved,” he commented.
Grégoire expressed an interest in a targeted approach to projects, and collaboration as a potential strength within the municipality.
He said he would work to make the city dynamic and attractive to young families. To attract new people is to create new needs, new jobs, new businesses, he pointed out.
Following the debate, The Record asked some locals it the event helped them make a decision about who to vote for as their next mayor.
While the general consensus was that they appreciated the debate, most said they had a lot of information to digest before they could make a decision. Some pointed out that the decision would be a difficult one given the face that each of the three candidates is well-known in the community, and each has a very unique vision for the town.
According to the debate organizers, the full audio from the debate will be made available for anyone interested. Email: Richmonddebat2017@gmail.com to find out how to access the recording.