Jean-François Parenteau is a politician in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He was elected as borough mayor of Verdun in 2013 and, by virtue of holding this position, is a member of both the Montreal city council and the Verdun borough council. He currently sits as an independent and is a member of the Montreal Executive Committee.
Private life and early political career Parenteau sought election as a borough councillor in Verdun's Desmarchais-Crawford division in the 2009 Montreal municipal election as a candidate of Vision Montreal. He was narrowly defeated by Ann Guy of the governing Union Montreal party. When he sought election as borough mayor in 2013, media reports described Parenteau as forty-two years old and the owner of an orthopedics supply store in Verdun.Rene Bruemmer, "Team Coderre introduces newest candidates; Mayoral hopeful's coalition now at 29 - and there will likely be more, he hints," Montreal Gazette, 8 August 2013, A7; Marian Scott, "Former Vision contender makes comeback," Montreal Gazette, 4 November 2013, B5.
Borough mayor and Montreal city councillor Parenteau was narrowly elected as borough mayor of Verdun in the 2013 municipal election. The following March, after an internal investigation into the awarding of construction permits in the borough, he announced the dismissal of Verdun's chief public works director Pierre Boutin. Although Boutin was cleared by the investigation, Parenteau justified the dismissal on the grounds that "the link of trust between a mayor and his borough director is essential to work on any serious administrative reform.""Former borough manager in Verdun hired by C.D.N.-N.D.G," Postmedia Breaking News, 2 June 2014. Parenteau subsequently said that preferential treatment and insider connections between developers and civil servants had cost taxpayers at least $1.5 million in lost profits.Linda Gyulai, "Bending of rules costs Verdun taxpayers; $1.5 million in lost revenue, mayor says," Montreal Gazette, 26 August 2014, A7.
Parenteau arranged to remove about 1,500 tons of soil from an abandoned snow dump near the St. Lawrence River in April 2014, six months after it had been deposited and shortly after it was discovered to have been contaminated with creosote.Katherine Wilton, "Verdun to remove tainted soil from riverfront: mayor; Creosote-contaminated earth can't be transported until May 15," Montreal Gazette, 23 April 2014, A4. Later in the same year, he advocated for the creation of a new beach in the same area (in conjunction with the cleanup effort), over suggestions from the opposition Project Montreal party and others that the beach should be established near the Verdun Auditorium, closer to a Montreal Metro station.Garrett Barry, "Competing visions for Verdun beach; Borough mayor, Projet Montréal leader vow to avoid 'political war'," Montreal Gazette, 7 August 2014, A4; Michelle Lalonde, "Riverside Revival; City is investing millions in big push to rediscover its island nature," Montreal Gazette, 24 July 2015, A1; Jesse Feith, "Verdun residents want beach behind auditorium, not Natatorium," Postmedia Breaking News, 31 August 2015. Parenteau eventually reversed his position in the face of public opposition and gave approval for the beach to be constructed near the auditorium."An Urban Beach in Verdun at a Public Gathering Place for Montréal's 375th Anniversary Celebrations," Ville de Montréal - Arrondissement de Verdun; Canada NewsWire, 5 October 2015.
In early 2016, the Verdun borough announced that it would no longer lease a space for Réseau d'Entraide de Verdun (REV), a food bank in the community. A representative of REV indicated that the borough had refused to meet with them to work out differences; Parenteau responded that this was not an accurate statement, and that the borough had made efforts to "mend fences" but ultimately ended the lease due to continued acrimony.Christopher Curtis, "Verdun food bank's future in doubt," Montreal Gazette, 13 April 2016, A7.
Parenteau served as an associate member of the Montreal executive committee (i.e., the municipal cabinet) with responsibility for water, working in conjunction with Chantal Rouleau, the executive committee member responsible for this file.Executive committee, City of Montreal, accessed 5 May 2017.
Parenteau was chosen as the third most popular politician in a 2016 YULorama poll of Montreal residents, behind Denis Coderre and Justin Trudeau.Jean-François Parenteau, coup de cœur des citoyens, Le Magazine Île-des-Soeurs, 20 January 2017, accessed 8 March 2017.
Parenteau was reelected in the 2017 municipal election as part of Équipe Denis Coderre. However, shortly after the election, he left the party to sit as an independent upon being named to the Montreal Executive Committee by Mayor Valérie Plante. He was named executive committee member in charge of citizen services and purchasing.
Electoral record
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