Three-way races in Hudson, St-Lazare

Growth, trust and infrastructure issues cited by candidates as key challenges

Voters in Hudson headed to the polls on a rain-soaked Sunday to elect a new mayor.

The mayor’s chair became vacant after Ed Prévost died a month ago at age 76, less than two months after announcing he would not seek reelection because of health reasons.

Prévost was elected mayor in 2013 and attempted to restore financial stability to the town of 5,000 residents after a former director general, Louise Léger-Villandré, was arrested in 2014 for defrauding the town of more than $1 million.

The 2017 election became a threeway race between Jamie Nicholls, Bill Nash and Joseph Eletr. (Results were not available at press time.)

Nicholls, who served as the New Democratic Party MP for Vaudreuil-Soulanges between 20112015, recently told the Montreal Gazette the biggest issue facing the town is charting a path of development for the future.

“The biggest challenge facing Hudson is how it will grow,” Nicholls said. “What will Hudson look like in 25 years? How will we get from a place of crumbling sidewalks and roads to a better future? How can we get to a point of agreement on these issues? A master plan for zoning and housing, completed within the first year, that involves all stakeholders will set the course.”

Nash, who sits on Hudson’s infrastructure committee, said the town must rebuild “a sustainable trust” with voters.

“This requires leadership where we must instil a culture of openness throughout the organization in addition to ongoing regular outbound communications from the town,” Nash said. “This does not happen overnight and requires diligence and constancy of purpose for continual improvement, but we can achieve that goal if we set our minds to it.”

Eletr, a local businessman, said Hudson’s biggest challenge is the lack of trust that has permeated everything from town hall meetings to comments on social media.

“If we want Hudson to even continue to exist, we need to restore trust with good management,” Eletr told the Montreal Gazette. “We need to dust ourselves off, work together and move on. That’s why I chose ‘the right direction’ as my campaign slogan.

It was also a three-way race in StLazare, where incumbent mayor Robert Grimaudo faced challenges from Lise Jolicoeur, a town councillor, and Michel Lambert of the Alliance St-Lazare party.

Grimaudo had served as mayor of St-Lazare since 2013. He said this year’s campaign became “nasty” at times.

He said he has spent much of the past four years addressing the town’s infrastructure challenges.

“I’m proud of what I’ve done, but infrastructure like sewers and water pipes is not very sexy to voters,” said the incumbent mayor. “In general, people seemed happy.”

One of the most pressing needs for St-Lazare, a town of 19,889 residents, is the need for a French high school, added Grimaudo.

“Let us not forget that we are the second-youngest municipality in Quebec, with approximately 30 per cent of our population under the age of 25,” he said.

Jolicoeur, who was elected to council in 2013, said municipal spending is an ongoing concern to voters

“Spending is a big and very real issue, whether it be the new city hall or events that are held here at great expense,” she said. “The majority of citizens would agree that this is not what St-Lazare needs or wants. Both are examples of a lack of transparency, which has become a problem with the current municipal government.”

Lambert, who served on council from 2009-2013, said traffic issues are a growing problem in St-Lazare.

“Close to 1,200 construction permits were approved in the past two years, and the traffic is a growing issue that must be addressed,” Lambert said.

In Vaudreuil-Dorion, incumbent mayor Guy Pilon held nearly a 1,500-vote lead over Pierre Séguin, with 51 of 88 of polls reporting.

Pilon was happy with the early results, but called the 2017 election the “worst of my life.” He said waging an election through social media left a sour taste in his mouth.

“At the end of the day, going doorto-door is still the best way to meet the voters — not by Facebook,” he said.

In Île Perrot, incumbent mayor Marc Roy was up against Pierre Séguin.

Elsewhere, Rigaud’s incumbent mayor, Hans Gruenwald Jr., was leading Jeannine Landry in early results, while Daniel Martel of Équipe Daniel Martel faced off against Robert Taylor of Citoyens pour l’avenir on Île-Cadieux.

Several off-island mayors were previously acclaimed, including Yvan Cardinal in Pincourt, Danie Deschênes in Notre-Dame-de-l’ÎlePerrot, Claude Pilon in Vaudreuilsur-le-lac and Michel Bourdeau in Terrasse-Vaudreuil.