The Buck stops here

West Islanders heading to the polls Nov. 1 for municipal elections will see many familiar names on their respective ballots but there will be one less in Kirkland as longtime councillor Brian (Buck) MacDonald is calling it a day after 22 years.

MacDonald, 61, a retired physical education teacher, served with three mayors (four, if you count Montreal mega-city Mayor Gerald Tremblay) since being elected as a Kirkland town councillor in 1987, first with Sam Elkas, then Nick Discepola and now John Meaney. He served one term as a borough councillor during the Montreal mega-city years all the while vehemently pushing for demergers.

“It comes a time to move on and Kirkland is in good shape now,” he said.

MacDonald said the highlight of his political career was successfully organising the Kirkland demerger forces with the help of fellow councillor Michel Gibson. They had to make sure enough residents opposed to the forced municipal mergers, set in motion by the previous Parti Quebecois government, came out during the 2004 referendum to reach the voter-turn-out percentage rule imposed by the Charest Liberal government.

“In 2001 with the whole merger thing, I decided to stick around to protect Kirkland’s interest,” he recalled. “After the demerger, I decided to stick around again to help the rest of the crew work on the transition. Over the last four years, it has proven to be beneficial.”

An unresolved issue for MacDonald, as he leaves council, has been the inability of both municipal and provincial authorities to solve regional traffic issues, such as opening new corridors for motorists in order ease traffic on residential streets, such as Henri-Daoust in his district, as they head to Highway 40 from Kirkland or neighbouring Pierrefonds.

“The low point is the failure to address the West Island transportation plan, more north-south arteries to Highway 40 to give people more options,” MacDonald said, referring to the failure to open up the proposed Highway 440 corridor or Jacques-Bizard Boulevard.

The remaining Kirkland town council incumbents, including Meaney who has been mayor since 1993, will be seeking re-election this fall.

Although he has been approached to provide an endorsement, MacDonald said he plans to remain neutral during the campaign to replace him in District 3 (Brunswick).

A few names have been bandied about to run in the district being vacated by MacDonald. So far, Mark Bouchard, 54, a retired Montreal police investigator, has announced he is running in District 3.

Meanwhile, Vincent Trengia, 46, will be running in District 7 (St. Charles), the council seat currently held by retired police officer Paul Dufort.

Trengia, employed by the City of Beaconsfield’s human resources department, holds an MBA (specializing in public affairs) and a political science degree. He has lived in the West Island for about 18 years and in Kirkland for six.

“My main issues I am running on are public safety, recreational services, a responsible fiscal budget and the environment,” Trengia said.