Interim mayor Smith victorious
For the first time in years, Westmount had something resembling a genuine mayoral race, but in the end the candidate endorsed by longtime mayor Peter Trent won the day.
Christina Smith, who served as interim mayor since April, was voted in as mayor of Westmount Sunday night with 3,593 votes. The runner-up was longtime city councillor Patrick Martin, who had 1,877 votes. The Suburban editor Beryl Wajsman was third with 537 votes.
These results are based on 45 of 45 polls reporting.
“I’m excited,” Smith said. “I’m looking forward to getting back to the work of running the city full-time.
“I think we heard a resounding message from across the city from residents. They care about infrastructure. They care about fixing their roads. They want the permit process to be more responsive. They want their parks to be better.
“But they also love their city and they love the unique things that make Westmount great: That’s our sports teams and our recreation centre and our library and Victoria Hall. I think there’s this great sense of community and I think that’s the message that was resonating with us, and we hope to just build on that.
“I think citizens want a more responsive process for urban planning. They want to deal quickly with traffic issues that impact us from the Turcot.”
Trent ran unopposed in five elections between 1991 and 2013, and Karin Marks, who stepped in as candidate when Trent walked away from politics for the 2001 and 2005 elections, won easily over the opposition he faced.
Trent announced in April that he was retiring. Smith, a city councillor, was voted in by council as interim mayor.
There were a number of tight races for council in Westmount. First-time councillor Anitra Bostock won by just four votes in District 1, with 259 votes. The runner-up was Antonio D’Amico.
In District 5, Marina Brzeski won by 36 votes, with 398 votes. Christian Matossian was the runner-up.
There has not been one defining issue during the Westmount campaign. Hot-button topics that have surfaced include the possibility of building a new indoor pool, streamlining the process of handing out building permits and improving the city’s infrastructure, including repairing roads.
There is also much concern about Westmount’s relationship with the Quebec transport department and its handling of the Turcot Interchange reconstruction. That huge construction site is just to the south of Westmount.
Wajsman had said he wanted to remove Bixi bikes from Westmount and he also advocated narrowing bike paths in the city to make the streets safer for pedestrians. He also said one of his priorities would be to fight for the rights of minority communities.
Smith had worked in federal politics for eight years and she was later a public affairs manager for Coca-Cola. She has been a city councillor for four years. She ran on a platform of strong fiscal management.