Alexandre Teodoresco

By Dan Laxer
The Suburban

Ensemble Montréal has a candidate for the upcoming municipal election for borough councillor in the Loyola district of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce.

Alexandre Teodoresco is known to the community as chair of the board of directors of Rendez-Vous NDG (RDV NDG), the group behind the social happenings in Girouard Park. He is also vice-president of strategic development and innovation at Les 7 Doigts and co-president of Entertain-AI.

Soraya Martinez Ferrada approached Teodoresco, knowing that he was involved in the techno-creative ecosystem in Montreal, as well as in his local community. She announced his candidacy at C2 Montreal, the annual networking conference that brings together business and creative leaders to explore ways to stimulate the economy. She was there to talk about the future of Artificial Intelligence in making the city more efficient. “Montreal must once again become a pioneer in innovation, especially since the loss of the Innovation District,” she said at the conference. “Artificial intelligence is a powerful tool to bring the city closer to its citizens and deliver services that meet their expectations. What I propose is an efficient, ambitious city focused on improving services to the population.”

Teodoresco admits that he is not a politician, that this will be his first foray into public service, and that there will be a learning curve. “But at the core I always wanted to have a positive impact on my community. I think this is the time,” he says, “I think we need to change how things are done for Montreal citizens.”

As things stand, CDN-NDG borough council has two Ensemble Montréal members – Stephanie Valenzuela and Sonny Moroz. Teodoresco is going up against incumbent Loyola councillor Despina Sourias.

“I’m feeling very confident with Soraya,” he told The Suburban. “She convinced me when she told me that innovation needs to be at the core of everything we do at the city and at the borough. This is the only way,” he adds, “that we can solve old problems with new solutions.”

He says that he has always been involved in his local community. “I’m very proud to be a resident of NDG for the past few years.” Working with RDV NDG made him realize that “there are more things that can unite us in NDG than divide us. You see French people laughing with English-speaking people. You see old and young dancing together.”

He says he would not have responded to a similar offer to join Projet Montréal. “I think that part of the problems that we’re facing today is due to the team that we have in place at city hall.” He says the current administration is passing “inertia” onto the next administration, whoever it may be. “A new team, a new vision, a new energy” is what’s needed, he says, “a different focus.”

Martinez Ferrada says Teodoresco “is exactly the kind of leader Montreal needs. He knows the field challenges, understands innovation’s potential, and knows how to bring communities together around meaningful projects. With him, Loyola will have a strong voice focused on the future.”

Innovation, Teodoresco says, is what’s missing. And he says that Martinez Ferrada, with her focus on innovation, is the right choice. n