Six candidates defect from the Parti au service du citoyen (PSC)

The Parti au service du citoyen (PSC) lost a half-dozen candidates for the 2009 municipal elections to take place in November.

PSC leader and mayoralty candidate Bordeleau is underplaying the impact these defections will have on his fledgling party, describing several of the departed candidates as "never having obtained official status as party candidates."

Mr. Bordeleau, for instance, refers to Valérie Leprohon - party organizer responsible for communications - as only "under consideration" to carry the party banner in Marigot District, prior to bolting the party last July.

Similarly, says the party leader, for André Dagenais (Marc-Aurèle-Fortin) and Daniela Caputo (Vimont), who were never confirmed in their posts as candidates. But, on the party's web site, one can find a communiqué dated June 11, 2008 announcing the first six PSC candidates, among whom are Daniela Caputo and André Dagenais.

Faced with the evidence, Mr. Bordeleau acknowledged to Courrier Laval that a mistake was made last summer when the names of these names were announced, considering that they had not yet made a deposit of $10,000 the party was asking from each candidate.

But the principal player in the situation disagrees with the depiction of these departures as a repudiation of the party. "Mr. Dagenais left for health reasons, he told me at the time," alleged the PSC leader in a telephone interview this past Monday.

Reached by telephone the night before, André Dagenais had a totally different explanation for the motives behind his departure. "I was away on business and for now my priority remains my company," he said, adding that his former leader could still count on his vote in November.

Self-employed Daniela Caputo, on the other hand, justifies her defection last summer as coming from a work overload, which doesn't necessarily mean she's crossed municipal politics off her list. "I'm still interested in running for the Vimont seat on city council," says the events coordinator who's presently being sought to run for another municipal party (see accompanying article: New municipal party … ).

Magdy Gamal (Sainte-Dorothée), Claude Major (Laval-des-Rapides), and David Decotis (St-Bruno) are the other PSC candidates who have abandoned the party.

Less than nine months before the municipal elections, there are now only four declared candidates for the Parti au service du citoyen. "We actually have ten confirmed candidates," retorts Mr. Bordeleau, declining to identify the other six. "You'll know who they are in due time," he states, emphasizing in passing that "politics in Laval are a difficult challenge."

In the end, regarding the accusations of ex-candidate David Decotis that the PSC lacks transparency in its finances, Mr. Bordeleau responds that his party is "perfectly transparent and democratic." He cites as proof an executive committee of 7 and a board of directors of 15, the two groups responsible for the proper administration and management of the party.

And who are these officers and administrators? "For now, I prefer to keep their names private," insisted the PSC leader and president, before identifying brothers Louis and Alain as the party's vice-president and official agent, respectively.

(With John Fasciano)