New Laval mayor to be chosen by vote next week

A new mayor of Laval will be chosen at a vote next week that is expected to be conducted in a manner similar to the election held in Montreal Friday.

The announcement represents a reversal of the city’s resistance to holding a secret vote among councillors to choose a replacement for Gilles Vaillancourt, who resigned last week as Laval mayor after 23 years in power.

A special meeting will be held Monday to establish rules governing the nomination and election process, according to a written statement released Friday by Basile Angelopoulos, Vice President of the Executive Committee of Laval.

The process undertaken by Montreal, which elected Michael Applebaum as interim mayor Friday, might have inspired the new approach.

However unlike Montreal, where many Union Montreal councillors bolted following Mayor Tremblay’s resignation, the Parti du Ralliement Officiel (PRO) still holds every seat on council – as it has since 2001 - and faces no internal opposition.

-With a file from The Canadian Press