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Mazel Schlimazel
Member
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Posted: Sun Nov 1st, 2009 07:15 pm |
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 Christinne Muschi/Reuters Montreal mayoral candidate and incumbent Gerald Tremblay casts his ballot as he votes in Montreal on Nov. 1, 2009.
Montreal mayoral candidate and incumbent Gerald Tremblay casts his ballot as he votes in Montreal on Nov. 1, 2009.
MONTREAL -- They disagreed on just about everything throughout 44 days of campaigning.
But the three main contenders for the Montreal mayoralty agreed on one thing as they wound up their campaigns for Sunday's municipal elections: They have never seen an election battle quite like this.
"This was not a conventional electoral campaign," said Mayor Gerald Tremblay, understating the drama that has surrounded unfolding allegations of corruption at city hall involving construction contractors.
Opponent Projet Montreal's Richard Bergeron has seen his popularity grow the most amid the scandal, though the most recent poll showed Vision Montreal's Louise Harel leading with 34% support versus 32% for Bergeron and 30% for Tremblay.
Last week's Angus Reid poll for La Presse had a margin of error of just under four percentage points, putting the three leaders in a dead heat.
But now the only poll that counts is the one that takes place Sunday at voting stations that opened at 10 a.m. local time and will close in the evening.
Tremblay, who is seeking a third term, said Saturday he wished he could have spent more of his campaign promoting his administration's accomplishments of the past eight years.
The most prominent of these have been in the areas of public transit, economic development and sustainable development, he said.
But corruption allegations took centre stage.
During Tremblay's second term as Montreal mayor, allegations surfaced that his party has been too cosy with contributors who conduct work for the city. There also were several spending scandals.
Last April, Quebec provincial police were called in to investigate the city's real-estate arm, following allegations of bent or broken rules and property sales below market value.
In June, there was an alleged extortion scheme carried out on a contractor renovating the roof Montreal's city hall. The contractor was quoted as saying he was asked by an organized crime figure to pay a $40,000 bribe to two unnamed city councillors in order to keep the contract.
In mid-September, the city's new auditor general, Jacques Bergeron, recommended the City of Montreal cancel a water-meter deal, because he believed it was awarded too quickly and cost too much.
Bergeron forwarded information to Quebec provincial police, which already had been investigating the deal.
The provincial government last month announced the creation of an investigative unit within the provincial police force to examine allegations of corruption, bid-rigging, collusion and criminal infiltration of the construction industry.
Tremblay said he welcomes the ongoing police probes and hopes the Quebec government will open a public inquiry.
"It's a campaign where we [Union Montreal] talked a lot about ethical behaviour and integrity," Tremblay said. "And the reason why we talked about it is because we do not accept, as an administration, people who do not respect the rules of law."
Harel, whose right-hand man, Benoit Labonte, stepped down from municipal politics as a result of the corruption fallout, said she expects the voter turnout to be much higher than some experts are predicting. In the 2005 election, it was 35%t, and it normally runs around 45%.
"It's the desire for change that is going to make the difference," Harel told reporters Saturday.
"What we saw with our American cousins [in last fall's U.S. presidential election] was that many people who hadn't voted before, and who had the desire for change, went out and voted," she said.
"What we saw with conservative Republicans was that voter turnout stayed the same. It's always those people who want change who make the difference."
Bergeron, who had 14% polling support early last month, spent Saturday on a marathon blitz of city boroughs to thank campaign workers.
He hoped to pick up more anglophone support and calm concerns over character issues raised by some of his past writings, including his suggestion that the moon landings were faked and that "mafias" around George Bush were behind the 9-11 terrorist attacks.
"I've written about 25,000 pages of material over the past 20 years," he said Saturday. "And in certain of my writings, I have been quoted out of context, here and there, with a sentence that can be used against me maliciously.
"When you stoop so low as to use those tactics, it means you have nothing else to use. So, I just let it go. It's not fun to see those comments. But it's a small price to pay for what's at stake in Montreal."
Montreal Gazette
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