Who will run for mayor in 2013?
La Presse has a small dossier today on potential candidates for the 2013 municipal election. Will Gérald Tremblay run for a fourth term in 2013? Several people have said a firm no to the possibility of running, while a few others are flirting with the idea. There’s even the way-out-there possibility of someone getting elected to the mayoralty on their own merits without a party, which is perfectly legal, but virtually impossible.
I think I could get behind Denis Coderre as mayor, even if it means he might be too busy to keep up his Twitter play-by-plays of Canadiens games.
PierreB 11:20 on 2012/02/14 Permalink
Franchement, je ne comprends pas l’intérêt portée à la candidature de Denis Coderre. Les élections sont l’an prochain et je n’ai aucune information concernant ses opinions sur les enjeux et les défis montréalais. Mais à quoi bon pourrait ressembler la mairie sous son règne ? Il devrait prendre position rapidement et dévoiler ses idées sans quoi il passera pour un opportuniste.
ant6n 12:05 on 2012/02/14 Permalink
Besides some ‘anger issues’, what’s wrong with Bergeron?
Kate 13:37 on 2012/02/14 Permalink
I like Bergeron and Projet but I’m not confident that enough people are ever going to support his views on the car’s place in the city to make him mayor.
I do agree we don’t know enough about Coderre’s views on Montreal’s issues. I think my tendency to approve of him is based on 2 things: he’s a seasoned politician and a fairly tough guy, and this city needs someone like that to stand up to the Quebec government – and he seems to have a certain joie de vivre.
qatzelok 13:40 on 2012/02/14 Permalink
@ Kate “I’m not confident that enough people are ever going to support his”
So you want to vote for a winner, and not the candidate who reflects your own points of view?
Kate 13:49 on 2012/02/14 Permalink
You make a good point. Do you choose the candidate who truly represents your views, or do you back the candidate whose history and views you can mostly stomach but who looks more likely to win? I don’t think you can generalize on this – you won’t know till we know more particulars, and November 2013 is a long way off yet.
Anyway, I did say “could” – Coderre isn’t even running yet. Let’s just say the idea of him running for mayor tends to please me, which god knows Michael Fortier – another potential candidate mentioned in the same article – does not.
Robert J 14:01 on 2012/02/14 Permalink
I don’t think that Projet can get votes outside of the densely populately central arrondissements (Plateau, Rosemont, Sud-Ouest, maybe Lasalle or Lachine). I might vote for a strong Projet candidate for borough mayor or councilor, but probably not for mayor as it stands.Their whole way of operating so far is based on the decentralized borough system, and I think they do it well, but I’d like to see a slightly less decentralized city, and they haven’t said much on that front (they are supposed to come up with a more thorough platform for next election so we’ll see– maybe they’ve yet to impress me).
As it stands, language issues still define city politics. Many people in Park-Ex, St-Michel, St-Léonard, or more anglo boroughs vote for Union Montreal because they think of it as a party that defends minorities. People from Hochelaga or Pointe-aux-Trembles vote for Vision because they see it as a party of francophones. Neither group openly campaigns with those labels but both carry those associations.
Getting rid of the party system would probably lessen the linguistic divisions in the political scene, as mayors would have to run on their personalities and the strength of their platform rather than the party image (which is more easily associated with specific demographics). This is what Georges Bossé would like do, but then again, he was involved in lobbying for developers in Griffintown, is like 68, and has a history with the mergers that can only create more division (I would hate to see him and Harel face off over that stale issue).
Coderre seems like a strong leader and is a young candidate with fresh ideas, but we’ll have to see how the party structure holds up for the next election (what party would he lead?). Vision may not be around for the next round because of its debt, and Union’s getting kind of old… if Bergeron wants to appear more viable as a candidate he should be the first to present his platform.
ant6n 14:16 on 2012/02/14 Permalink
“I don’t think that Projet can get votes outside of the densely populately central arrondissements (Plateau, Rosemont, Sud-Ouest, maybe Lasalle or Lachine).”
They also have decent chances in CDN/NDG, Hochelaga/Maisonneuve, Villeray/St Michel/Parc Ex, and Ahuntsic-Cartierville (where they actually got a mayor in 2009).
That’s like 2/3 of Montreal by population.
Robert J 15:05 on 2012/02/14 Permalink
Like I said, I’d love to see them prove me wrong.
David Tighe 16:00 on 2012/02/14 Permalink
I think the last thing we need is another ex-politician for mayor. They may posture in public but in private they cut their own deals. Rather we need somebody who knows what a decent city should be like and has the integrity to fight for it.
Kate 17:47 on 2012/02/14 Permalink
That’s kind of a contradiction, though. You can’t get to be mayor of a large city without politicking – engaging in a certain amount of quid-pro-quo, at least. Now and then something like the NDP’s orange wave sweeps a few complete newbies into office, but if any of those MPs survives to run in another election, they will have grown some calluses and learned some unwritten rules and – well, turned themselves into politicians, to put it simply.
To get an apex role like mayor of Montreal unfortunately you need to have a big war chest and a lot of support among influential people. In short, you need to be a politician.
Robert J 18:13 on 2012/02/14 Permalink
What is promising about Coderre is that he has political experience but no direct ties to past conflicts in the municipal arena (mergers, real estate deals, etc.)… at least not that I know of. He’s also fairly young.