SENNEVILLE – An enormous political battle is being played out in the smallest town on the island of Montreal.
Several Senneville councillors in the village of more than 900 are calling on the mayor to resign.
They are complaining that Jane Guest has not been acting as a mayor but rather as an activist.
“When you’re the mayor you have to look out for the good of the whole town and not have somewhat of an activist type approach to what’s going on,” Senneville councillor Charles Mickie told Global News after a council meeting Monday night.
The politics being played out in Senneville are similar to dozens of battles in many other cities and towns across the province: what to do with a large lots of green space.
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But in this town, it has taken on a divisive and politically toxic tone.
Mayor Guest won last November’s mayoral election on a platform that she would kill an urban plan that would have allowed up to 70 single-family homes to be built.
But now, the town is operating without an urban plan.
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The council kicked Guest out of its last caucus meeting, a private discussion typically reserved for town councillors – and the mayor.
The group still has not decided whether they’ll let Guest return.
“I think we could find a way to re-introduce her slowly, perhaps have a bit of a pre-meeting so we could go through some of the issues. and then perhaps bring her in,” Senneville councillor Brian McManus said.
More than 40 residents attended Monday’s meeting.
Many of them denounced the councillors’ actions, saying Guest should be allowed to attend the meetings as a democratically elected mayor.
They believe that she should be allowed to participate whether councillors support her or not.
Even the former mayor, George McLeish, has tacitly supported her inclusion as part of caucus.
As for Guest? She told Global News there’s no question that she would like to be included.
“Absolutely. I should and certainly want to be.”
The next caucus meeting is expected to take place in about three weeks time.
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