JOSHUA ALLAN
The 1019 Report
After 33 years on the Vaudreuil-Dorion council, Paul Dumoulin announced his bid for mayor for the fall election last week. Dumoulin was accompanied by current Mayor Guy Pilon and fellow members of the Parti de l’action de Vaudreuil-Dorion (PAVD) at the historic Maison Trestler on Wednesday evening for the event.
“It’s been 33 years that I’ve been a councillor, and I’ve always said one of these days I’d like to (run for) mayor,” said Dumoulin in an interview. “Now the time (is right).”
Current Mayor Guy Pilon plans to step away from municipal politics after filling the role since 2005. He voiced his support for Dumoulin at the Wednesday evening event and in a subsequent interview.
Dumoulin “understands that you need to make decisions,” said Pilon, commending the political decisiveness of his government over the past decades. “We made decisions (. . .) when you look at the result after 20 years, I think it’s (been) fantastic.”
Pilon added that he plans to be involved in the election campaign this fall, where he’ll lend his voice in support of Dumoulin and the PAVD candidates for council.
Continuity promised
Dumoulin explained that he isn’t ashamed to say that his administration would largely maintain the same course set by Pilon.
“People like it in Vaudreuil-Dorion,” he said. “Sometimes people (are elected) and say it’s going to be different. But why should it be? I’ve been there with (Pilon) since he started as mayor. I don’t necessarily want to change everything.”
He compared the role of mayor of Vaudreuil-Dorion to manning the helm of a large ship. “The ship is moving well, and we still want the ship to go as well as it was going.”
The PAVD candidates will see a mix of new and returning faces. Councillors Luc Marsan and François Séguin will run again in Districts 1 and 2, respectively. They will be joined by political newcomers Dominic Lalonde (District 3), Alexandre Ménard-Levasseur (District 4), Nancy Dallaire (District 5), Sarah Champagne (District 6), Zoulikha Benfares (District 7), and John McRae (District 8).
At the Wednesday evening event, party members detailed their priorities for the future, including addressing the traffic woes along Harwood Blvd. in the Dorion district, flood zone protection, overseeing the opening of the new Vaudreuil-Soulanges Hospital, and practising fiscal responsibility.
New party to challenge old
Dumoulin and the PAVD will be running against the recently-launched Inspire Vaudreuil-Dorion, led by current District 4 councillor Karine Lechasseur. Lechasseur announced her bid for mayor at a party event on May 6, promising increased collaboration between residents and the city under her leadership.
District 3 councillor Jasmine Sharma will also run under the new party’s banner. Both Sharma and Lechasseur had been members of the PAVD, but left the party to sit as independents in January 2023, accusing the party of lacking inclusive engagement.
Along with Sharma, Inspire Vaudreuil-Dorion unveiled four candidates for council so far, all political newcomers: Maëlys Eouani, Sheldon Burgoa, Noémie Huet Gagnon and Benoît Giguère. This team will be the largest organized electoral group to challenge the PAVD since 2017, when the Équipe Nous Sommes challenged the ruling party, but fell short of getting any candidates elected.