Longtime Montreal city councillor Marvin Rotrand not running for re-election
Longtime Montreal city councillor Marvin Rotrand says he will not be seeking reelection this coming November, after almost four decades in politics.
Rotrand states he is now a grandfather and wants to spend more time with his family.
“I used to say I work eight days a week, but now that I'm getting older, I'm working seven days a week,” quips the 70-year-old.
Rotrand is the city's longest-serving councillor, having spent the last 39 years representing the west-end district of Snowdon under eight different mayors.
He says he plans to throw his support behind his "once nemesis" Denis Coderre and endorse Lionel Perez for borough mayor of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce-Côte-des-Neiges.
Mayor Valérie Plante and her Projet Montréal party, he insists, are too ideological.
Rotrand first entered politics in 1982, when he was part of a group that founded the Montreal citizen's movement. They would go on to help elect Jean Doré as mayor in 1986.
During his time in office, Rotrand has become a lightning rod for social causes.
“I've tried to represent the point of view of my constituents more than the point of view of my party at any time and I think people have come to welcome that,” he said, adding he has always despised the "party affiliation" political structure.
“We are the most confrontational, the least collegial, rigid party position. If one party says black, the other says white,” he notes. “It's destructive, it empowers too few people at the top.”
Rotrand admits he envies how Toronto does things -- there are no political parties and everyone is considered independent.
“I'm progressive. I admit that, but I'm pragmatic also and I believe people work hard for their living and the city as such can't do too much at one time with their tax dollars,” he states.
His greatest political achievement, he believes, is forcing Montreal police to be held accountable for its actions by pushing for the creation of the police ethics commission.
While Rotrand won't say what he plans to do in retirement, the life-long activist admits he will likely stay involved in social issues.
He says he plans to keep his position until the official transition of power on November 18.
That will give him a chance to send his Christmas cards from City Hall for the last time before taking some time off.
“Just a few days,” he insists.
The municipal election in Montreal will take place on Nov. 7.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.