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Montreal: Councillor Chitilian Joins Coderre's Team

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  • Montreal: Councillor Chitilian Joins Coderre's Team

    COUNCILLOR CHITILIAN JOINS CODERRE'S TEAM

    The Gazette (Montreal)
    August 3, 2013 Saturday
    Early Edition

    by LINDA GYULAI, The Gazette

    Councillor Harout Chitilian, who lost to Laurent Blanchard by two
    votes to become Montreal's new interim mayor in June, has joined
    mayoral candidate Denis Coderre's team.

    The councillor from Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough becomes the second
    former member of the onceruling Union Montreal party to join Equipe
    Denis Coderre this week.

    Lionel Perez, interim borough mayor of
    Côte-des-Neiges-Note-Dâme-de-Grace, announced his move on Tuesday.

    Chitilian, who is council speaker, was first elected to office in
    2009 with former mayor Gerald Tremblay's Union Montreal. He has been
    an independent since December.

    "After the Nov. 3 election, I think we're going to be in rebuilding
    mode not just in terms of infrastructure, but to rebuild the trust
    with the people," Chitilian said Friday. "We have to get out there and
    meet people and ... listen to them and listen to their frustrations."

    Chitilian, who was born in Lebanon and is of Lebanese and Armenian
    origin, said he considers Coderre accessible to constituents and a
    good listener.

    Mayoral rival Marcel Côte, of Coalition Montreal, and running mate
    Vision Montreal Leader Louise Harel have talked of the need to unite
    the east and west ends of the city. However, Chitilian said he doesn't
    understand the message.

    "I've never seen the divide myself," he said. "We're all Montrealers -
    equal, of different backgrounds."

    Côte and Coderre will join fellow mayoral contenders Richard Bergeron
    of Projet Montreal and Melanie Joly, who is forming a party called
    Vrai changement pour Montreal, in a first candidates' debate at
    Universite du Quebec a Montreal on Aug. 16.

    The topics will be youth and citizen participation.

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