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Race for third term starts now, Tremblay says
Boastful mayor blasts critics
ALAN HUSTAK, The Gazette
Published: Sunday, November 11 2007Gérald Tremblay says victory for his Union Montreal Party candidates in the Dec. 16 Outremont by-election will be an important stepping stone in his bid to win a third term as mayor in 2009.
In a keynote convention address yesterday, Tremblay - who is midway through his second mandate - told party supporters he will seek a third term, and his campaign begins immediately.
"We have to meet constituents one by one, convince them one by one and mobilize them," Tremblay told about 200 delegates who attended the meeting at a downtown convention centre.
View Larger ImageMayor Gérald Tremblay stressed the importance of the Outremont by-election during speech to Union Montreal party delegates.
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"The most important challenge is Outremont. ... We can't minimize the importance of this election." The municipal by-election was made necessary after Stéphane Harbour, who was elected borough mayor in 2001, was expelled from the Union Montreal Party over his expense account. He resigned from his post last month.
Marie Cinq-Mars, Union Montreal Party city councillor in the Robert Bourassa district, is the party's mayoralty candidate in the race. Marie Potvin is running for Cinq-Mars's seat on the borough council.
Cinq-Mars will run against Vision Montreal candidate Christine Hernandez and Projet Montréal candidate Jean-Claude Marsan in the Dec. 16 contest.
Tremblay boasted his record as mayor is unsurpassed, and said it was "unacceptable that certain people," should attack him for a lack of leadership.
Tremblay went through a litany of his administration's achievements, including "an unemployment rate that has never been as low," increased tourism, and "six years of hard work on our infrastructure." Although he didn't mention his critic by name, Tremblay obviously was referring to Ville Marie borough Mayor Benoît Labonté, who quit Union Montreal's slate in September to sit as an independent, citing Tremblay's lack of leadership.
"Pessimists who attack don't hurt me," Tremblay continued, "but they damage the city's reputation. True leadership isn't someone who runs off at the mouth in public, but someone who concentrates all their energy to work for the city." This month, while Tremblay was out of the city, Labonté, once a star Union Montreal member, unveiled an ambitious development plan for a downtown entertainment district without Tremblay's knowledge.
"Yes, a quartier des spectacles (entertainment district) is important," Tremblay said yesterday. "The quality of life in our boroughs is important. Yes, the Notre Dame (St.) expansion is important. Yes, we need a new Planetarium. But we are not going to repeat the errors that have been made in the past."
ahustak@ thegazette.canwest.com
