Jean-François Parenteau

Jean-François Parenteau is a politician in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He was elected as borough mayor of Verdun in 2013 and, by virtue of holding this position, is a member of both the Montreal city council and the Verdun borough council. He currently sits as an independent and is a member of the Montreal Executive Committee.[1][2]

Jean-François Parenteau
Member of the Montreal Executive Committee with responsibility for citizen services and purchasing
Incumbent
Assumed office 2017
Associate member of the Montreal Executive Committee with responsibility for water
In office 2013–2017
Preceded by	position created
Succeeded by	position abolished
Borough Mayor of Verdun and Montreal City Councillor
Incumbent
Assumed office 2013
Preceded by	Ginette Marotte
Personal details
Political party	Independent

Private life and early political career

Parenteau sought election as a borough councillor in Verdun's Desmarchais-Crawford division in the 2009 Montreal municipal election as a candidate of Vision Montreal. He was narrowly defeated by Ann Guy of the governing Union Montreal party. When he sought election as borough mayor in 2013, media reports described Parenteau as forty-two years old and the owner of an orthopedics supply store in Verdun.[3]

Borough mayor and Montreal city councillor

Parenteau was narrowly elected as borough mayor of Verdun in the 2013 municipal election. The following March, after an internal investigation into the awarding of construction permits in the borough, he announced the dismissal of Verdun's chief public works director Pierre Boutin. Although Boutin was cleared by the investigation, Parenteau justified the dismissal on the grounds that "the link of trust between a mayor and his borough director is essential to work on any serious administrative reform."[4] Parenteau subsequently said that preferential treatment and insider connections between developers and civil servants had cost taxpayers at least $1.5 million in lost profits.[5]

Parenteau arranged to remove about 1,500 tons of soil from an abandoned snow dump near the St. Lawrence River in April 2014, six months after it had been deposited and shortly after it was discovered to have been contaminated with creosote.[6] Later in the same year, he advocated for the creation of a new beach in the same area (in conjunction with the cleanup effort), over suggestions from the opposition Project Montreal party and others that the beach should be established near the Verdun Auditorium, closer to a Montreal Metro station.[7] Parenteau eventually reversed his position in the face of public opposition and gave approval for the beach to be constructed near the auditorium.[8]

In early 2016, the Verdun borough announced that it would no longer lease a space for Réseau d'Entraide de Verdun (REV), a food bank in the community. A representative of REV indicated that the borough had refused to meet with them to work out differences; Parenteau responded that this was not an accurate statement, and that the borough had made efforts to "mend fences" but ultimately ended the lease due to continued acrimony.[9]

Parenteau served as an associate member of the Montreal executive committee (i.e., the municipal cabinet) with responsibility for water, working in conjunction with Chantal Rouleau, the executive committee member responsible for this file.[10]

Parenteau was chosen as the third most popular politician in a 2016 YULorama poll of Montreal residents, behind Denis Coderre and Justin Trudeau.[11]

Parenteau was reelected in the 2017 municipal election as part of Équipe Denis Coderre. However, shortly after the election, he left the party to sit as an independent upon being named to the Montreal Executive Committee by Mayor Valérie Plante. He was named executive committee member in charge of citizen services and purchasing.[12]

Electoral record

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:[13]

2009 Montreal municipal election: Borough councillor I, Desmarchais-Crawford
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Union Montreal	Ann Guy	2,922	36.33
	Vision Montreal	Jean-François Parenteau	2,784	34.61
	Projet Montréal	Xavier Mondor	1,837	22.84
	Montréal Ville-Marie	Diane Schinck	501	6.23
Total valid votes			8,044	100	–
Total rejected ballots			307	5.33	–
Turnout			8,351	37.08	–
Electors on the lists			22,523	–	–
Source: Election results, 2009, City of Montreal.

References

1. http://ville.montreal.qc.ca/portal/page?_pageid=5798,85809754&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL&id=143154131
2. https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/montreals-executive-committee-will-reflect-balance-diversity-plante-says
3. Rene Bruemmer, "Team Coderre introduces newest candidates; Mayoral hopeful's coalition now at 29 - and there will likely be more, he hints," Montreal Gazette, 8 August 2013, A7; Marian Scott, "Former Vision contender makes comeback," Montreal Gazette, 4 November 2013, B5.
4. "Former borough manager in Verdun hired by C.D.N.-N.D.G," Postmedia Breaking News, 2 June 2014.
5. Linda Gyulai, "Bending of rules costs Verdun taxpayers; $1.5 million in lost revenue, mayor says," Montreal Gazette, 26 August 2014, A7.
6. Katherine Wilton, "Verdun to remove tainted soil from riverfront: mayor; Creosote-contaminated earth can't be transported until May 15," Montreal Gazette, 23 April 2014, A4.
7. Garrett Barry, "Competing visions for Verdun beach; Borough mayor, Projet Montréal leader vow to avoid 'political war'," Montreal Gazette, 7 August 2014, A4; Michelle Lalonde, "Riverside Revival; City is investing millions in big push to rediscover its island nature," Montreal Gazette, 24 July 2015, A1; Jesse Feith, "Verdun residents want beach behind auditorium, not Natatorium," Postmedia Breaking News, 31 August 2015.
8. "An Urban Beach in Verdun at a Public Gathering Place for Montréal's 375th Anniversary Celebrations," Ville de Montréal - Arrondissement de Verdun; Canada NewsWire, 5 October 2015.
9. Christopher Curtis, "Verdun food bank's future in doubt," Montreal Gazette, 13 April 2016, A7.
10. Executive committee, City of Montreal, accessed 5 May 2017.
11. Jean-François Parenteau, coup de cœur des citoyens, Le Magazine Île-des-Soeurs, 20 January 2017, accessed 8 March 2017.
12. Normandin, Pierre-André (20 November 2017). "Montréal: trois élus d'expérience à des postes-clés au comité exécutif". La Presse. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
13. Ryan Rumbolt, "Communist League candidate Katherine LeRougetel enters mayoral race", Calgary Herald, 5 March 2017, accessed 8 March 2017.