Alain Tassé

Alain Tassé is a politician in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He served on the Montreal city council from 2005 to 2013, initially as a member of the Montreal Island Citizens Union (MICU)/Union Montreal (UM) party and later as an independent. From 2012 to 2013, he was a member of the Montreal executive committee (i.e., the municipal cabinet). At an earlier time in his life, he held a leading position in the New Democratic Party in Quebec and was a candidate for the House of Commons of Canada.

Alain Tassé
Member of the Montreal Executive Committee responsible for economic development and urban planning (and, as of June 25, 2013, water)
In office 2012–2013
Preceded by	Richard Deschamps (Economic Development, Infrastructure, and Major Projects (Montreal 2025))[1]
Succeeded by	Denis Coderre (Mayor, Economic Development, International Relations, Mont Royal, Montreal’s 375th anniversary) Russell Copeman (Housing and Urban Planning) Chantal Rouleau (Water and Water Infrastructure)
Montreal City Councillor for Desmarchais-Crawford
In office 2005–2013
Preceded by	position created
Succeeded by	Sterling Downey
Verdun City Councillor, Division 5
In office 1993–1997
Preceded by	Jocelyn Beauvais[2]
Succeeded by	eliminated by redistribution[3]
President of the New Democratic Party of Canada in Quebec
In office 1990–1991
Preceded by	Paul Cappon
Succeeded by	Réjean Bercier[4]
Personal details
Political party	New Democratic Party Anti-Annexation Party (Verdun) (1985) Municipal Action Party (Verdun) (1993–97) Montreal Island Citizens Union (MICU), renamed as Union Montreal (UM) (2005–12) Independent (2012–13) Coalition Montréal (2013)

Private career

Tassé's 2013 campaign literature identified him as the owner of a property management firm specializing in the oversight of non-profit housing.[5]

New Democratic Party activist

Tassé was a candidate for the Canadian House of Commons in the 1988 Canadian federal election, running for the New Democratic Party in Verdun—Saint-Paul. He finished third against Progressive Conservative Gilbert Chartrand.

The New Democratic Party experienced serious internal divisions in 1989 over the nature and extent of its support for the proposed Meech Lake Accord on constitutional reform. In December 1989, delegates at the party's convention voted to seek improvements to the accord via a series of amendments. This decision was opposed by many Quebec delegates, particularly those who identified as Quebec nationalists and who opposed any changes to the original text. Tassé was among those opposing the decision; he was quoted as saying, "I'm a socialist before I'm a nationalist, but I remain a (Quebec) nationalist."[6]

Tassé was chosen as interim president of the federal wing of the New Democratic Party in Quebec in June 1990.[7] He stood down from the position in early 1991 and became special assistant on Quebec issues to federal party leader Audrey McLaughlin, a position he continued to hold through to the 1993 Canadian federal election.[8][9] In June 1991, he was involved in developing a compromise resolution on constitutional reform intended to win support for the party in both Quebec and Western Canada.[10]

Municipal politician

Tassé unsuccessfully sought election to the Verdun city council in 1985, running as a candidate of the Parti contre l'annexion de Verdun (Verdun Anti-Annexation Party), which opposed a proposed merger of Verdun with Montreal.[11] He was elected in the 1993 municipal election as a member of Georges Bossé's Parti d'action municipale (Municipal Action Party) and served for the next four years. He sought re-election in 1997 but was defeated.[12]

Verdun was subsequently annexed to Montreal on January 1, 2002, and Tassé was elected to the Montreal city council in 2005, winning in the Desmarchais-Crawford division in that year's municipal election. The Montreal Island Citizens Union won a majority on council, and Tassé served as a backbench supporter of Gérald Tremblay administration. He was re-elected in the 2009 election, which was won by Tremblay's renamed Union Montreal party. Following this election, Tassé served on the city's task force dealing with bedbug infestations[13] and oversaw the establishment of an open-data portal for municipal information.[14]

The Union Montreal party fell into crisis in late 2012, after serious allegations of corruption were made about the party at the Charbonneau Commission. Tassé was one of the first councillors to resign from the party following these revelations, serving as an independent on council as of November 2012.[15] Following Tremblay's resignation as mayor, city council voted to choose a replacement, and Tassé supported Michael Applebaum's successful bid for the position.[16] On November 22, 2012, Applebaum named Tassé to his executive committee with responsibility for economic development and urbanization.[17] He retained these responsibilities when Laurent Blanchard succeeded Applebaum as mayor on June 25, 2013, and also gained responsibility for the oversight of water.[18]

In January 2013, Tassé announced the beginning of a long-term renewal plan for a derelict area in the northern section of Montreal's Parc Avenue. He indicated that the plan was to turn a former "no man's land" area into a mixed-use neighbourhood, with some continued industrial and commercial presence.[19] He also defended the city's decision to authorize condominium towers in Griffintown without public consultation, saying that the buildings would be an improvement over what had been there previously.[20]

Tassé speculated that he might contest the 2013 municipal election as part of a group of independents in Verdun,[21] but he ultimately supported Marcel Côté's bid for mayor and joined the Coalition Montréal party.[22] Under this party's banner, he ran for borough mayor of Verdun and finished fourth against Jean-François Parenteau of Équipe Denis Coderre pour Montréal. Tassé's term on the executive committee ended when Blanchard's administration stood down from office.

Electoral record

Municipal (Montreal)

2013 Montreal municipal election: Borough Mayor, Verdun
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Équipe Denis Coderre	Jean-François Parenteau	5,147	24.81
	Projet Montréal	Mary Ann Davis	4,594	22.14
	Vrai changement	Mourad Bendjennet	3,645	17.57
	Coalition Montréal	Alain Tassé (incumbent city councillor)	2,902	13.99
	Option Verdun / Montréal	André Savard	2,669	12.86
	Équipe Andrée Champoux	Andrée Champoux	1,549	7.47
	Intégrité Montréal	Jency Mercier	139	0.67
	Independent	Katherine Le Rougetel	102	0.49
Total valid votes			20,747	100	–
Total rejected ballots			583	3.24	–
Turnout			21,330	44.74	–
Electors on the lists			47,677	–	–
Source: Election results, 2013, City of Montreal. Le Rougetel was a candidate of the unregistered Communist League. Source:[23]

2009 Montreal municipal election: Councillor, Desmarchais-Crawford
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Union Montreal	Alain Tassé (incumbent)	3,115	38.69
	Vision Montreal	Antoine Richard	2,429	30.17
	Projet Montréal	Mathieu Boisvert	1,901	23.61
	Montréal Ville-Marie	Jeannette Lafrance	606	7.53
Total valid votes			8,051	100	–
Total rejected ballots			283	5.33	–
Turnout			8,334	37.00	–
Electors on the lists			22,523	–	–
Source: Election results, 2009, City of Montreal.

2005 Montreal municipal election: Councillor, Desmarchais-Crawford
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Citizens Union	Alain Tassé	4,066	56.18
	Vision Montreal	Alain Fortier	2,381	32.90
	Projet Montréal	Mathieu Fontaine	791	10.93
Total valid votes			7,238	100	–
Source: Election results, 2005, City of Montreal.

Municipal (Verdun)

1997 Verdun municipal election: Councillor, Division 3
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Ernie Chiasson	730	52.67
	Parti d'action municipale	Alain Tassé (incumbent)	656	47.33
Total valid votes			1,386	100	–
Source: "Results from races for mayor, council" Montreal Gazette, 3 November 1997, A6.

1993 Verdun municipal election: Councillor, Division 5
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Parti d'action municipale	Alain Tassé	863	50.59
	Regroupement des Citoyens de Verdun	Jocelyn Beauvais (incumbent)	608	35.64
	Independent	Jean-Louis Ladouceur	235	13.77
Total valid votes			1,706	100	–
Source: "Incumbents all re-elected in Montreal East voting," Montreal Gazette, 9 November 1993, A6.

1985 Verdun municipal election: Councillor, Division 4
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Parti d'action municipale	Jocelyn Beauvais	745	36.27
	Parti de l'Unité de Verdun	Nicole Brault-Greco	437	21.28
	Regroupement des Citoyens de Verdun	Paul Beaupré	430	20.93
	Parti contre l'annexion de Verdun	Alain Tassé	411	20.11
	Parti civique de Verdun	Gilbert Léger	31	1.51
Total valid votes			2,054	100	–
Source: "Final results for Verdun, Hudson, Montreal East," Montreal Gazette, 5 November 1985, A6.

Federal

1988 Canadian federal election: Verdun—Saint-Paul
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Gilbert Chartrand (incumbent)	20,113	45.32
	Liberal	Raymond Lavigne	15,207	34.27
	New Democratic	Alain Tassé	6,572	14.81
	Green	Jan-Marc Lavergne	1,339	3.02
	Rhinoceros	Irène Maman Mayer	902	2.03
	Commonwealth of Canada	Claude Brosseau	142	0.32
	No Affiliation	Yvon Turgeon	105	0.24
Total valid votes			44,380	100.00	–
Total rejected ballots			1,108	–	–
Turnout			45,488	73.22	–
Electors on the lists			62,126	–	–
Source: Report of the Chief Electoral Officer, Thirty-fourth General Election, 1988. Yvon Turgeon was a member of the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist). Source:[24]

References

1. There does not appear to have been a member of the executive committee specifically responsible for urban planning between April 6, 2011, and November 22, 2012. Michael Applebaum held the position before this time. In addition, there does not appear to have been a member of the executive committee responsible for water prior to June 25, 2013.
2. Élus de Verdun de 1875 à 2005, City of Montreal, accessed 15 March 2017.
3. Tassé sought re-election in Verdun's redistributed third district in 1997, losing to Verdun firefighter Ernie Chiasson. See Mike King, "Bossé re-elected easily," Montreal Gazette, 3 November 1997, A4. The new fifth ward was won by Danielle Mimeault of the Parti d'action municipale.
4. Bercier was identified as president of the federal wing of the Quebec NDP in Norm Ovenden, "Delegates back Quebec as distinct society," Edmonton Journal, 9 February 1992, A1. It is possible that another person may have held the position between Tassé and Bernier.
5. Pierre Boulanger, "Alain Tassé, candidat de la Coalition Montréal", Le Messager Verdun, 22 October 2013, accessed 13 March 2017.
6. Graham Fraser and Alan Freeman, "NDP CHOOSES A LEADER Delegates avoid splitting party, vote to improve, change Meech," Globe and Mail, 2 December 1989, A10.
7. "NDP Quebec wing picks new chief," Montreal Gazette, 19 June 1990, A3. The provincial wing of the Quebec NDP had broken away from the federal party the previous year, largely due to divisions over Quebec sovereignty. See Peter Kuitenbrouwer, "Quebec NDP splits from federal party," Montreal Gazette, 1 May 1989, A1. A newspaper report from March 1991 described Tassé as continuing to hold the office of president.
8. Edison Stewart, "PM eyes meeting with opposition on unity stand, Toronto Star, 5 April 1991, A13.
9. Andy Riga, "Want to meet Charest? It will only cost you $500," Montreal Gazette, 9 October 1993, A12.
10. Geoffrey York, "NDP tries to placate Quebec and West," Globe and Mail, 7 June 1991, A1.
11. Daniel Kucharsky, "Verdun voters reject annexation backers," Montreal Gazette, 5 November 1985, A1. See also Ingrid Peritz & Daniel Kurcharsky, "Montreal wants talks on Nun's Island," Montreal Gazette, 5 November 1985, A5.
12. "Results from races for mayor, council," Montreal Gazette, 3 November 1997, A6.
13. "Pack tight, don't let the bedbugs bite; Tip: Avoid picking up furniture from the curb, even if it looks good," Montreal Gazette, 29 June 2011, A6.
14. Roberto Rocha, "City makes data available on Web," Montreal Gazette, 28 October 2011, A6.
15. Max Harrold & Lynn Moore, "One thing's clear at city hall: It's confusing; As Union Montreal loses its majority, candidates and parties jockey for position," Montreal Gazette, 15 November 2012, A4.
16. Sidharta Banerjee, "After 100 years, could Montreal get Anglo mayor? Mais 'oui,' says one candidate," Canadian Press, 14 November 2012.
17. René Bruemmer, "Applebaum delivers promised mix; Executive committee introduced; Vision gets three seats, Union three, Projet two, plus three independents," Montreal Gazette, 23 November 2012, A4.
18. Tracey Ariel, "Verdun Candidate for Mayor: Alain Tassé", newscoverage.org, 17 October 2013, accessed 10 March 2013.
19. René Bruemmer, "New look proposed for Parc Ave.; Development plans to put homes, offices, commercial space in former industrial area," Montreal Gazette, 18 January 2013, A4.
20. Marian Scott, "Citizens key to shaping city," Montreal Gazette, 16 March 2013, B1.
21. Linda Gyulai, "Clock ticking and few mayoral candidates; Corruption scandal blamed for lack of interest in race," Montreal Gazette, 2 April 2013, A4.
22. René Bruemmer, "Marcel Côté throws his hat in the ring; Vows to 'bring together all the elements' of city," Montreal Gazette, 4 July 2013, A3.
23. Ryan Rumbolt, "Communist League candidate Katherine LeRougetel enters mayoral race", Calgary Herald, 5 March 2017, accessed 8 March 2017.
24. History of Federal Ridings Since 1867: MISSISSAUGA EAST (1993/10/25), Parliament of Canada, 13 March 2017.