Saint Lazare Mayor Robert Grimaudo and shook hands Sunday with Marc-André Esculier, who won the Sept. 25 District 4 by-election. (Kristina Edson)
Council meeting watchdog going to other side of table
Residents from Saint Lazare’s District 4 have a new municipal council representative following Sunday’s tightly fought by-election race that included a slate of six candidates. Marc-André Esculier, a longtime vocal council meeting watchdog, won the municipal seat that was left vacant in June when sitting councillor Denis Briard resigned suddenly for unspecified reasons. Nathaly Rayneault, présidente d’élection, read the results at approximately 9:20 p.m. on Sept. 25, at the Saint Lazare Community Centre where advance and general votes had taken place. A small crowd, including four of the six candidates, gathered to hear the results. Esculier received a total 223 votes in the district that had 2,257 registered voters. His closest competition came from former town councillor Michel Lambert, who received 137 votes. Political newcomer Hugo Castonguay, who turned 18 three days prior to the polling day, received 89 votes, while the remaining three candidates finished as follows: Martin Couture 73 votes, Paul Lavigne 46 votes, Alvaro Martinez 42 votes. Esculier will be sworn in on Sept. 30.
Working relationship
After congratulating him with a handshake, Mayor Robert Grimaudo said there’s not much Esculier can do in advance to prepare for his new job. “Like any councillor, he will only get access to all of the files and documents after he’s sworn in,” Grimaudo said, adding it can take close to a year for a first-time councillor to get up to speed. Esculier feels he wont need that long. “I think I can show them a thing or two…. I will certainly try to slow down the quick decisions and make sure we fully research each file until we’re ready to vote,” he said. The two have a contentious history. Esculier, a regular monthly council meeting attendee, has publicly taken Grimaudo to task for a multitude of municipal decisions leading to what Esculier sees as a climate of overspending.
Candidate Alvaro Martinez congratulated his political opponent immediately following the reading of the vote tally. (Kristina Edson)
Priorities
While campaigning, Esculier said he spent an average 20 minutes talking to most residents he encountered. “I didn’t promise miracles, but it should be a pleasure to live in Saint Lazare and right now it’s not,” he opined. His first priorities will include tackling sewer and infrastructure issues in the district. Keeping his constituents “fully informed” will be another ranking item. “That’s something that’s been lacking in the past year,” Esculier said. Meanwhile, at least one municipal councillor was critical of the need to hold the by-election in the first place. Calling fulfilling a mandate a “sacred obligation,” District 5 representative Serge David admitted Briard’s departure came out of the blue. “He wrote a letter… he gave no reason” David said. “When people elect you it’s to do a job so you better have a damn good reason for not doing the job,” he said. Briard had won the Dist. 4 seat in 2013 by acclimation. According to David, the by-election cost taxpayers $60,000. The next municipal general elections will take place on November 5, 2017.
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