It was Sue Montgomery’s first borough council sitting as an independent mayor at Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce.
But while she now sits alone on her council, she is finding support in her constituents.
On Jan. 24, Montgomery was kicked out of the Projet Montréal party caucus following a harassment investigation into her chief of staff by the city’s comptroller general.
The report found her chief of staff guilty of harassment against two borough employees and recommended that Montgomery fire the employee in question, but she refused.
At council, Montgomery received applause, hugs and flowers from her constituents and supporters, some of whom even rented a bus and carried signs that read “Truth, respect and Sue’s Truth Bus.”
“It’s about respect, it’s about truth and I hope some of it comes out,” said NDG resident Alexander Montagano, who says he wants complete transparency and is demanding that the city releases the findings of the report.
“I think it’s a power struggle between the civil service mainly, the borough director and Sue Montgomery trying to exercise control over the borough,” Montagano said.
Some people say they don’t know what to make of the two different stories they’re being served.
The borough mayor says she didn’t see the report and that her chief of staff was portrayed unfairly.
“The residents of this city deserve transparency,” said Montgomery on Monday ahead of council.
Projet Montréal councillors in the borough are now saying that no work has been done since December because of the problem.
They accuse Montgomery of sacrificing the good of the people to turn the issue into a personal crusade.
“We are now at the point where it is tremendously hard to work with the borough mayor,” said borough councillor Christian Arsenault.
“That’s absolutely not true,” Montgomery reacted. “I have a team in my cabinet who communicates with the bureaucrats. We have their full cooperation.”
The tug-of-war is leading some to believe Montgomery’s own party is setting her up for failure.
To that, she says, “If they are, they’re setting themselves up for failure.”
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