Mayor-elect Denis Coderre hit the media circuit early Monday morning, smiling broadly as he gave interviews, posed for photos, and savoured his win.
Coderre is set to become Montreal’s 44th mayor after earning 32 per cent of the vote Sunday night, ahead of second-place candidate Melanie Joly, who garnered 26.5 per cent of the vote, Projet Montreal’s leader Richard Bergeron with 25.75 per cent of ballots cast and Coalition Montreal’s Marcel Cote trailing with just under 13 per cent.
Coderre’s team admitted to reporters it was a nervy night, where councillors and supporters were far from certain Coderre had clinched the city’s top job.
“It’s emotional to be here today,” said Coderre Monday, at his first press conference at city hall. “(But) I feel great because now the real responsibility starts.”
Coderre will have his work cut out for him; he will be at the helm of a minority government on city council.
Equipe Coderre earned 27 seats to compared to Projet Montreal’s 20, Cote's Coalition with 6, Joly's team with 4, Pro Action LaSalle with 2, Dauphin Lachine with 2, Equipe Anjou with 2,and Equipe Conservons Outremont earing 1, along with 1 Independent.
Without a majority on council, the new mayor will have to work with everyone – political opponents, blue-collar workers and city managers.
“I think that all together, we can make a difference,” he said before a flash of cameras.
Coderre said he isn't ruling out having opposition councillors sit on his executive committee, adding that he seemed particularly interested in working with Marcel Cote, whom he repeatedly referred to as a gentleman.
“I salute Mr. Cote and I think that he should be part of the solution too,” he said.
Coderre told the media one of his first items of business will be putting into place his anti-corruption plan, including hiring an inspector general for the city.
“I’m changing the locks,” he often joked throughout the campaign.
He's also in the process of setting up a meeting with Premier Pauline Marois. Among other issues, he said
they will discuss the proposed Charter of Quebec Values banning obvious religious symbols, which has seen little support in Montreal compared to the rest of the province.
“I'm going to relay, but I'm sure they're aware, that it's very divisive… very emotional, but my role as mayor is to make sure we don't put oil on fire but I want to see the text first,” he said. “Clearly this is an issue that we have to take a look at. For now, I have some issues for the first 100 days, but I’ll talk about it.”
Coderre was asked about one more populist issue he discussed on the campaign trail: bringing back the Montreal Expos.
“My understanding is we’ll have the study in future weeks. I think that Montreal is a city for baseball, but right now we have more priorities,” said Coderre, who added that he was part of the group that tried to save the team before it headed to Washington D.C.