Brownstein defeats Libman following fractious race
‘It was an exercise in democracy’: Often fractious race ends amicably
Seven of the eight council seats in Côte-St-Luc were being contested in this year’s election, but the closest race was thought to be the one between the current mayor and a former one. Observers said it was probably the most hotly contested race for mayor in the history of the west-end municipality, in which mayors are acclaimed much of the time.
But incumbent Mitchell Brownstein was ahead of challenger — and former mayor — Robert Libman from the outset. By 10 p.m., with 46 of 72 polls counted and Brownstein ahead with 58 per cent of the vote, Libman was preparing to send him a note of congratulations. “It looks as though he will win,” he said.
Both candidates were preparing to thank their volunteers. And although exchanges between the two had been fractious, even strained, during the campaign, on Sunday night each had only warm wishes for the other.
“I wish Mr. Libman all the best,” said Brownstein as he prepared to thank his volunteers.
“It was an exercise in democracy,” Libman said. “We put a lot of content out there and raised a lot of important issues.”
Being mayor would have been “an interesting and exciting challenge,” he said. He said he hoped some of those issues will be dealt with by the new council. By 10:30, challengers for the council seats had won two of the eight seats and were ahead in two more.
Brownstein was acclaimed as mayor in 2016 when longtime mayor Anthony Housefather resigned after winning the federal seat in Mount Royal for the Liberals. Brownstein, a lawyer by profession, was first elected to Côte-St-Luc council in 1990. Challenger Libman was a provincial MNA from 1989 to 1994 and became mayor of Côte-St-Luc in 1998, also winning by acclamation in succeeding longtime mayor Bernard Lang on his retirement.
Libman, an architect and urban planner, was re-elected mayor of the Côte-St-Luc–Hampstead– Montreal West merged borough after the creation of the megacity of Montreal and served from 2002 to 2005 — but did not run for mayor of the reconstituted city of Côte-St-Luc following its demerger from the megacity.
He returned to private life and opened his own architectural consulting firm; in 2014 he returned to politics and won the nomination in the federal riding of Mount Royal for the Conservative Party of Canada. The district includes Côte-St-Luc, the Town of Mount Royal, Hampstead, Snowdon and part of Côte-des-Neiges. Libman was defeated by Housefather in the 2015 federal election, but he did well in Côte-St-Luc — and perhaps believed the support of those who voted for him in the federal race would help to elect him.
There was substantial overlap in the platforms of the two candidates, with both naming among their top priorities reducing taxes, completing the Cavendish extension from Côte-St-Luc to St-Laurent to connect the two dead ends of Cavendish, improving roads and relocating and redeveloping the CP rail yards in Côte-St-Luc. Yet despite their agreement on most issues, a seemingly personal rivalry between the candidates was evident throughout the campaign, with each levelling insults against the other on social media. They traded barbs and talked over one another in a television debate.
The west-end municipality of about 324,000, with 22,569 registered voters, is the third-largest municipality on the island of Montreal, after the city of Montreal and Dollard-des- Ormeaux. More than 10 per cent of voters voted in the advance polls.