Barbe takes LaSalle again; Dauphin poised for fall
In Verdun, incumbent mayor Parenteau ahead of Projet Montréal’s Chappaz
In what was widely deemed a two-party race across the city of Montreal, a borough-level party headed by a longtime mayor in LaSalle showed its strength, seeming poised late Sunday to not only see its leader re-elected but also sweep the borough.
As of 10 p.m., incumbent LaSalle borough mayor Manon Barbe was ahead with nearly 60 per cent of the vote. Barbe, born and raised in LaSalle, was a municipal councillor from 1995 to 2001 and has been borough mayor since 2001. She leads Équipe Barbe Team in the borough, a party she created during the 2013 election campaign.
“I’ve been mayor for a long time in LaSalle and my priority has always been to work for the citizens. That’s our team’s strong point: listening to citizens and what they have to say,” Barbe said Sunday night as results trickled in.
Barbe’s team was also poised to sweep LaSalle, with its six candidates showing convincing leads early on.
Team member Richard Deschamps was leading in votes as LaSalle city councillor. For LaSalle’s four borough councillors, Équipe Barbe Team members Laura Palestini and Nancy Blanchet were leading in Sault–St–Louis, as well as Lise Zarac and Serge Declos in Cecil–P.–Newman.
“There are those who say it takes an opposition party, but that’s only true when you have a party that’s not listening to the population,” Barbe said when asked about the possibility of her team sweeping the borough. “But when you are listening, like us, you’re always questioning yourself and having the constructive discussions it takes.”
During the campaign, Barbe had pledged her support to Projet Montréal leader Valérie Plante.
She reacted with joy when she heard Plante was projected to win Sunday night.
“Yes!” she screamed as she found out. “I’m so happy. Citizens got the message. This makes my day.”
The results were not looking to be the same in Lachine, where Claude Dauphin, also running under his own party — Équipe Claude Dauphin Lachine — appeared on the verge of being ousted as borough mayor.
Dauphin, a former Liberal MNA who had been mayor of the Lachine borough since 2001, launched his party in 2013.
During this year’s campaign, Dauphin looked to overcome revelations from last year that he was investigated by Quebec’s anti-corruption squad.
But early results showed him being defeated Sunday by Maja Vodanovic, a borough councillor for Lachine who had resigned from his team after the corruption allegations surfaced. She later joined Projet Montréal to run for borough mayor.
For Lachine’s city councillor, Projet Montréal candidate Micheline Rouleau was leading in votes as of 10 p.m. As for its three borough councillors, early results had three Projet Montréal candidates in the lead: Julie-Pascale Provost with a slight lead in the Canal district, Younes Boukala in J.–Émery–Provost and Michèle Flannery in Fort–Rolland.
In Verdun, a close race had developed between incumbent borough mayor Jean-François Parenteau, from Équipe Denis Coderre, and Projet Montréal’s borough mayoral candidate, Michèle Chappaz.
As of 10 p.m., Parenteau had gathered 54 per cent of the vote in the borough. Chappaz had 44 per cent.
Parenteau had won by a close margin in 2013 when he edged out then-Projet Montréal candidate Mary Ann Davis by less than three per cent of the vote.
The races for Verdun’s city councillor and two borough councillors in each of its two districts remained close as of 10 p.m.
I’ve been mayor for a long time in LaSalle and my priority has always been to work for the citizens. That’s our team’s strong point: listening to citizens and what they have to say.