Gatineau municipal election, 1987

The 1987 Gatineau municipal election was held on November 1, 1987, to elect a mayor and councillors in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. Incumbent mayor Gaétan Cousineau was narrowly re-elected over a challenge from former mayor John Luck.

Results

Mayor

Council

Post-election changes

Gaétan Cousineau resigned as mayor in early 1988, and a by-election was held to choose his replacement.^[1]

• Jean Deschênes was born on March 26, 1940, in Sainte-Flavie, Quebec. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Ottawa, began working as a school principal in 1972, and later received a Master of Public Administration degree.^[2] Deschênes first ran for mayor of Gatineau in 1979, losing to incumbent John Luck, and ran a second time in a by-election called after the resignation of Gaetan Cousineau in 1988. He highlighted his skills as an administrator and sought a municipal tax freeze in the latter campaign.^[3] Despite an endorsement from Luck, he finished third against Robert Labine.^[4] He was later elected to the Gatineau city council in 1995, representing the city’s fifth ward.^[5] In 1996, Deschênes was arrested by Gatineau police under very controversial circumstances while returning home from a charity function; despite passing three breathalyzer tests, he was taken to the station in handcuffs and given a fourth test before being released. The officers were later reprimanded for not following proper procedure. At the time of the incident, Deschênes chaired a city committee that was looking into cutbacks for city staff, including the police; he, and many others, later described the police actions as intimidation and harassment.^[6] He was narrowly defeated by Joseph de Sylva in 1999.^[7] He also sought election in 2001, but was defeated.^[8] Deschênes has been active in the Liberal Party of Canada.^[9]
• Hubert Leroux was born in Hawkesbury, Ontario. An insurance broker, he served on the Gatineau city council from 1979 to 1987.^[10] Known as a maverick politician, Leroux was one of only two councillors to vote against the city's 1986 budget, arguing that more spending cuts could have been made.^[11] He also opposed Mayor Gaétan Cousineau's plans for a new city hall building.^[12] He lost to Richard Canuel in the 1987 election.^[13] He was forty-eight years old during the 1988 election and described himself as a "small-c" conservative.^[14] The latter point notwithstanding, he called for a significant business tax increase to keep property taxes down.^[15]

Sources: "Final official results of weekend Outaouais civic elections," Ottawa Citizen, 6 November 1987, C3; "Cousineau wins, Luck continues to contest result" [mayoral recount], Ottawa Citizen, 16 November 1987, C1; David Gamble, "Labine wins tight race for mayor in Gatineau," Ottawa Citizen, 6 June 1988, A1.

References

1. ↑ Philip Authier, "Gatineau mayor resigns," Ottawa Citizen, 18 February 1988, A1; George Kalogerakis, "Mayor of Gatineau calls it quits, says he's tired of 'scapegoat role'," Montreal Gazette, 19 February 1988, A4.
2. ↑ Fonds Jean-Deschênes, City of Gatineau, accessed 15 April 1991; David Gamble, "Latest candidate for Gatineau mayor endorsed by Luck," Ottawa Citizen, 7 April 1988, B1.
3. ↑ David Gamble, "Deschenes says Gatineau mayor should be qualified administrator," Ottawa Citizen, 4 May 1988, B3.
4. ↑ David Gamble, "Latest candidate for Gatineau mayor endorsed by Luck," Ottawa Citizen, 7 April 1988, B1.
5. ↑ Mike Shahin, "Hull ward to undergo recount," Ottawa Citizen, 7 November 1995, B5.
6. ↑ Patrick Brethour and Carrie Buchanan, "Councillor calls arrest harassment," Ottawa Citizen, 29 April 1996, D1 (the councillor referred to in the title was not Deschenes); Carrie Buchanan, "Force suspends Gatineau officers for improper arrests of city councillor," Ottawa Citizen, 22 June 1996, C6; Bob Phillips, "Conduct of police in Gatineau hot bar topic," Ottawa Citizen, 2 July 1996, B3; Carrie Buchanan, "Gatineau councillor tells story of arrest: Witness describes ‘climate of fear’," Ottawa Citizen, 11 March 1997, B3; Michael LaPalme, "Storm helps police get off the hook," Ottawa Citizen, 15 January 1998, D4.
7. ↑ Jean-Michel Gauthier, "Élections municipales 99 : Jean Deschênes perd son siège; De Sylva cause la grande surprise," Le Devoir, 8 November 1999, p. 5.
8. ↑ Fonds Jean-Deschênes, City of Gatineau, accessed 15 April 1991.
9. ↑ David Gamble, "Ex-councillor in mayoral race to help ‘little guy’ in Gatineau," Ottawa Citizen, 20 May 1988, C3.
10. ↑ David Gamble, "Former Gatineau councillor enters race for mayor's job," Ottawa Citizen, 27 April 1988, B1.
11. ↑ David Gamble, "Gatineau approves 4% tax jump," Ottawa Citizen, 18 December 1986, B3.
12. ↑ Jack Aubry, "Gatineau unveils proposals for new city hall," Ottawa Citizen, 8 January 1987, B1; David Gamble, "Gatineau awards contract for city hall," Ottawa Citizen, 11 February 1987, B1.
13. ↑ David Gamble, "Luck scrapes past Cousineau," Ottawa Citizen, 2 November 1987, C1.
14. ↑ He added that he was once active with the Social Credit Party of Canada but no longer had any political affiliation. See David Gamble, "Ex-councillor in mayoral race to help 'little guy' in Gatineau," Ottawa Citizen, 20 May 1988, C3.
15. ↑ David Gamble, "Mayoral candidate says business tax should go up 37%," Ottawa Citizen, 25 May 1988, B1.