Elections in the City of Côte Saint-Luc are now officially over and I am proud to announce that I have won a fourth four year mandate to serve the residents of District 2. With all ballots counted,  I obtained 1,008 votes compared to  226 for my opponent Mélodie Cohn.  

Allow me to congratulate Mélodie for running a proper campaign. We saw each other often over the last few months and the interaction was always positive.  In other races, incumbents Ruth Kovac, Steven Erdelyi and  Sidney Benizri were returned to office. Dida Berku had been acclaimed. Welcome to new city councillors David Tordjman, Mitch Kujavsky and Oren Sebag. With victory comes defeat and I am of course saddened to see three devoted colleagues defeated: Glenn J. Nashen, Sam Goldbloom and Allan J. Levine. I expect each of them to remain involved in our community.

For the official final results click here.

Bravo to Mayor Mitchell Brownstein, a close friend of mine for more than 30 years. He worked very very hard to retain his post. Mitchell is a full-time mayor and we are lucky to have him!

For starters, I must  thank my wife Ilana and daughter Alex. Not only did they support me during this long campaign, but they provided valuable insight and advice. They were there every step of the way on election day, not to mention the past 12 years where I have been away from the house more often than  not with council business. It was in fact Ilana who convinced me to run in the first place.

To my father-in-law Reuben Spector, how can I express my gratitude for your critical role as the official agent and campaign manager for a fourth race in a row?  My mother-in-law Shirley was a big booster and stood side by side with Reuben. And then there is my mom Elaine, who at 78 years young accompanied me on many door to door visits.

Dida Berku, Ruth Kovac, Oren Sebag, myself, Mayor Brownstein, David Tordjman, Mitch Kujavsky and Steven Erdelyi.

There were a number of  devoted volunteers, too numerous to mention. I must highlight the work of Steven Stein, who provided a significant amount of time from the get go.The election campaign formally began last June when Robert Libman announced his intention to take another run at the mayor’s seat. His candidacy was preceded by the creation of the Let’s Chat CSL Facebook page. Moderator Marissa Sidel made no secret of the fact that she wanted  to see incumbent elected officials challenged. And that did occur in every district but one.   

I have always felt that an election campaign is four years long. In my case I go out of my way to get to know and interact with as many constituents as possible. You cannot just start knocking on peoples doors a few months before an election and automatically expect their support. In each building or street where I campaigned, I had multiple supporters to join and endorse me. Incumbency is indeed a bonus if the candidate has done his or her job well.

Twelve years ago I became the first councillor to introduce annual Town Hall District meetings. I take regular walkabouts in the district, write an interactive blog, return every phone call and e-mail, meet in person with anyone who has an issue or concern, attend an endless array of community events, chair a variety of committees and constantly look for ways to introduce new concepts to our city landscape.

Most of the people I interacted with during this campaign, were a pleasure to deal with.  On this night I will raise a glass to them and spare any words for those individuals who truly disappointed me. They know who they are.

The campaign has provided me with a significant set of new objectives, fuelled by the hundreds of people I encountered in my door to door visits. There is much work ahead and I am ready for the challenge!

A final word of thanks goes out to Andrea Charon and Mark Gross who oversaw our election process like real pros.