Concordians triumph in Nov. 3 municipal elections
Montreal City Hall. | Photo by Han Sheng Chin (Flickr Creative Commons)
Dozens of Concordia alumni and employees made a bid for one of Montreal’s 103 seats in the November 3 municipal elections. And when the votes were counted, a number were victorious — including Associate Vice-President of External Relations Russell Copeman. He will be sworn in as mayor of the borough of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce (CDN-NDG) in mid-November.
In CDN-NDG alone, Copeman will be joined by three of the university’s graduates: Équipe Coderre’s Lionel Perez (BA 92), city councillor for the Darlington electoral district; Project Montréal’s Peter McQueen (BA 87), city councillor for the NDG electoral district; and Coalition Montréal’s Marvin Rotrand (BA 72), city councillor for the Snowdon electoral district.
Copeman says his experiences at Concordia inspired him to enter politics at the municipal level.
“Everything I learned about the importance of the city in terms of urban development, urban planning and quality of life was through my position at the university,” he says. “I came to better understand how far-reaching the city is, and how important the city services are to people and to institutions.”
Rotrand is the only one of five city councillors from CDN-NDG who shares the new borough mayor’s party affiliation, but Copeman says the result is just what his neighbourhood needs. “I said from the beginning of the campaign that I was hoping for a more collegial borough council,” he says. “Nobody has a majority on council, so we all have to work together across party lines for the benefit of the residents.”
Russell Copeman and his supporters watch the election unfold on television. | Photo courtesy of Michel Boyer, CJAD News
Before joining Concordia in 2008, Copeman represented the Quebec Liberal Party at the National Assembly in Quebec City for 14 years. It’s been five years since he’s been in political office, but the new borough mayor says he feels ready for his role.
“It’s a bit like riding a bike: you don’t really forget how to do it,” he says. “I enjoy contact with people, and I enjoy trying to represent them to the best of my abilities. There are some significant challenges that need to be dealt with and I’m looking forward to that.”
Projet Montréal’s fresh face
Although Richard Bergeron finished third in the Montreal mayoral race, his Projet Montréal party fared well in some areas. They swept up all four available council and borough council seats in the Sud-Ouest borough.
The winning Sud-Ouest team includes Concordia graduate Craig Sauvé (BA 04), who won the city council seat for the electoral district of Saint-Henri–La Petite-Bourgogne–Pointe-Saint-Charles. Sauvé was Projet Montréal’s head organizer in the 2009 municipal elections.
“The southwest of Montreal is facing radical changes these days,” Sauvé says in a video posted on his party’s web page. “A real estate boom is underway in our borough. We’ve got to properly use the tools we have to make room for families, respect local heritage and ensure sustainable development.”
Concordia grad Yves Gignac (BComm 79), a member of Équipe Coderre, won the borough council seat for the Cap-Saint-Jacques electoral district of the borough of Pierrefonds-Roxboro.
According to the latest count, Jason Prince — a part-time faculty member at the School of Community and Public Affairs — lost by only 92 votes to Benoît Dorais of Coalition Montréal in the Southwest borough mayoral race.
Alumnus Alex Bottausci (BA 94, EMBA 13), a coordinator at Concordia’s Institute for Co-operative Education, begins his third term as a city councillor in Dollard-des-Ormeaux, this time by acclamation. Bottausci also won in 2005 and 2009 with overwhelming majorities.
A first-time candidate, alumna Manon Gauthier (BA 97) won her seat as a city councillor for the Champlain-Nun’s Island electoral district in the borough of Verdun.