Why this city “needs” Gérald Tremblay
François Cardinal’s Monday blogger says this city needs Gérald Tremblay chiefly so that by hanging onto power, Tremblay will eventually destroy Union Montreal and force us to take a different path at next year’s election.
I agree with Thibault that it was shocking in 2009 when, as corruption accusations were beginning to seethe around city hall, people nonetheless voted Tremblay back in. It was also shocking that only 38% of the electorate took the trouble to vote at all. But I disagree with him that the exclusion of Louise Harel should be pinned on the anglos. Thibault conveniently forgets the scandal around Benoit Labonté that broke out during the election campaign and cast a shadow over Harel and Vision Montreal.
The question I come out with from reading this brief piece is how do you convince people that the right response to disgust at corrupt politicians is not to stay home on voting day but to get out and make the best vote you can?
Jack 09:35 on 2012/10/22 Permalink
“il était clair que la majorité de la population anglophone allait voter pour un trombone s’il s’en présentait un.” Check out who Projet Montreal elected in NDG ,Mile End and the Plateau, blokes will vote like anybody else based on self interest.
Noah 10:59 on 2012/10/22 Permalink
I regret voting for Tremblay’s team in the last election to a degree, but I was not going to vote for Peter McQueen/Richard Bergeron under any circumstance and I’d sooner punch myself in the face than vote for Louise Harel. Hopefully Tremblay will resign and Union will dissolve for the next election and a new party will fill its void.
I now live in the Loyola district and still absolutely refuse to vote Projet Montreal or Vision Montreal.
Maybe I’ll vote for Denis Coderre if he ends up running. Otherwise, I might have to scrap my ballot altogether. It all looks pretty bleak on the municipal front.
ant6n 11:20 on 2012/10/22 Permalink
How can a corrupt party be a lesser evil compared to projet montreal?
walkerp 11:31 on 2012/10/22 Permalink
Projet Montreal has kicked ass for the Plateau plain and simple. It’s cleaner, more efficiently and transparently run and being made a more attractive place to live and work by the day.
I don’t know how much the new administration has to do with this, but from my perspective as a citizen living here, I have found a huge improvement in response time and attitude from city workers since Projet Montreal took over.
paul 11:34 on 2012/10/22 Permalink
agreed @ walkerp
I cant speak for Richard Bergeron, but Ferrandez and his team have been an inspiration to politics in my opinion.
Socially progressive, fiscally prudent (relatively), and with a clear vision that doesn’t waver at the smallest amount of negative press.
steph 12:04 on 2012/10/22 Permalink
Do people who live in the boroughs get to vote in the city elections? What’s the election process like, do they even send out election notices like the provincial and federal elections. I’ve lived on the island and have never known where & when to vote for city elections.
Kate 13:02 on 2012/10/22 Permalink
steph, the number of votes you cast depends partly on your borough, because they’re not all identical structurally. The whole city is divided into boroughs, and when you vote you select borough councillors, city councillors, a borough mayor and a city mayor, but the distribution of these varies from one borough to another.
The Election Montreal website will help you figure out where you’re voting and how you make sure you’re on the list. In 2009 Alanah Heffez wrote a very good municipal voter’s guide which may clarify the situation for you.
Noah, what’s your beef with Projet? You say a lot but you mention no specific issue.
Faiz Imam 17:29 on 2012/10/22 Permalink
@noah. I hope you can explain you rationale a bit more. what policies so repel you from opposition parties?
Tantastic Ted 10:21 on 2012/10/23 Permalink
What Noah said.
Kate 10:28 on 2012/10/23 Permalink
Whatever. Neither of you is making a case.
Things may change before next November if Denis Coderre steps into the ring, but right now the only people with any credibility and integrity on the municipal stage are Projet Montréal.
Kevin 10:33 on 2012/10/23 Permalink
After following Thibault on Twitter for many months I’ve found he’s typical of the ‘everyone but me and the people I like suck’ movement. He seems to have zero empathy for anyone who doesn’t live in his neighbourhood and doesn’t think like him.
As for municipal politics – In 2009, for one of the few times in my life, the guy I voted for actually won…