Competition stiff in city’s largest borough
C.D.N.-N.D.G. incumbents all running, and face a long list of voter concerns
No matter who wins the election in Côte-des-Neiges—Notre-DamedeGrâce, residents like Leigh Adams have a long list of concerns they’d like to see addressed once the dust settles.
Adams is thinking about snow clearing, traffic-calming measures, support for community organizations and the gridlock spurred by road construction as she heads to the voting booth on Sunday, but her 18-month-old son is her top priority.
“N.D.G. has always been a very family-centric neighbourhood,” Adams said. “I want to see my child enjoy the same thing.”
With a total of 22 candidates vying for six seats in the city’s most populous borough, the incumbents, all of whom are running, are faced with stiff competition this year.
Incumbent borough mayor Russell Copeman is no exception. Elected as a Coalition Montréal party member in 2013, Copeman has sat on the city’s executive committee throughout his term, but he joined ranks with Équipe Denis Coderre last year. Now Copeman, a seasoned politician with 14 years’ experience in the National Assembly, is facing off against former Gazette reporter Sue Montgomery, representing Projet Montréal, and the Coalition’s Zaki Ghavitian.
For Copeman, it is about finishing what he started.
“We want to continue the repair of our roads,” Copeman said. “We did 40 per cent in the last mandate and we want to do an additional 40 per cent, but we also recognize that we have to better co-ordinate work.”
Borough cleanliness, beautifying overpasses, tree trimming, establishing a heritage action plan and developing 750 social housing units are also topping Copeman’s lengthy list of goals.
Despite his efforts, Montgomery said she, like many residents, feels frustrated that the borough is not living up to its full potential.
“Traffic is a mess, the bike paths aren’t safe and, during this campaign, I have seen unbelievable living conditions, especially for people in Côte-des-Neiges, which is just appalling,” Montgomery said. She described public transportation, commercial arteries, park chalets and social housing as her primary targets. When it comes to the race, Montgomery has no qualms about saying, “I’m going to win.”
But Ghavitian is equally confident. New to the political scene, with a background in engineering, he is looking to bring his experience to the borough. Along with 35 years at Hydro- Quebéc, he long served as president of the Order of Engineers of Quebec and of Engineers Canada.
“The borough needs action, not politicians,” he said. “It needs infrastructure experience and leadership.”
Ghavitian is running with incumbent councillor Marvin Rotrand. As Coalition’s party leader, Rotrand is facing his 10th election in Snowdon district, where he remains quite popular. After all his years in office, Rotrand is pushing for a more diverse city council that steps outside the city’s norm of partisan politics by allowing his team to vote with their conscience.
Incumbent councillor Jeremy Searle’s Loyola district will be a fractured vote between six candidates as he fights to hold the seat. Loyola tends to attract independent candidates who siphon votes from top contenders in tight elections. In 2013, the vote was thinly dispersed, with Searle, an independent, winning with 23.41 per cent.
Projet’s Christian Arseneault came in second place that year and he has since sat on the sidelines, watching Searle stir up storms of controversy by, for example, showing up to meetings behaving erratically (he later admitted to battling alcoholism) and making remarks that were felt by many to be antiSemitic.
As residents express discontent with Searle’s performance on social media, Arseneault is hoping to channel some of that anger and secure the seat. Also in the race is Coderre’s Gabriel Retta, with 16 years of experience working for politicians at the federal, provincial and municipal level.
By handing out about 9,000 business cards with his cell number on them, Retta is presenting himself as an openly accessible candidate — much different than Searle who, among his controversies, has come under fire for being unreachable and absent.
“I believe it is a job where you need to be in contact with your citizens,” Retta asserted.
In Darlington district, councillor Lionel Perez — a Coderre candidate — is aiming to hold onto a seat he has had since 2009. A lawyer by trade, Perez took more than 35 per cent of the vote in 2013.
In Côte-des-Neiges district, Projet’s Magda Popeanu, who won by a narrow margin in 2013, is contending with Coalition’s Raphaël Assor, Coderre’s Tiffany Callender and Maureen Chin, a candidate with the Vrai changement pour Montréal party.
As for N.D.G. district, Caroline Orchard’s campaign for Coalition has been marred by her headlinegrabbing anti-feminism social media posts that caught plenty of attention last month.
Coderre’s Elaine Ethier is well known in the area, but Peter McQueen, who has held the seat since 2009, remains confident it will be Projet’s victory party Sunday night.
“What I want to do now is plan for the post-Turcot N.D.G.,” he concluded.
“That plan will include less traffic, less noise, less pollution, more greenery and safer infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists.”