After a recent tally, the electoral body Élections Québec has declared David Tordjman as the victor in the mayoral election in Côte Saint-Luc, narrowly surpassing the incumbent Mitchell Brownstein by just one vote.
Tordjman garnered 4,196 votes, equivalent to 50.01%, while Brownstein secured 4,195 votes, representing 49.99% of the total votes cast. The voter turnout stood at 36.9%, with 8,391 valid ballots counted and 229 rejected out of 23,359 registered voters.
Previously, Tordjman held the position of city councilor for District 6 from 2017 to 2021, where he served until his unsuccessful re-election bid in 2021. He brings a background in civil engineering and is presently the general manager of the Nunavik Investment Corporation.
Furthermore, Tordjman has been actively involved in infrastructure and development projects with First Nations communities and dedicates his time as the president of the Friendship Circle of Montreal, a group supporting individuals with disabilities.
On the other hand, Brownstein, a lawyer by profession, entered city council in 1990 and assumed the role of mayor in 2016. Following the outcome, Lawrence Bergman, who led Brownstein’s campaign, announced that they would be seeking a recount due to discrepancies in vote counts.
Bergman highlighted that Brownstein initially held a 50-vote lead on Sunday evening but saw a shift with Brownstein losing 38 votes and Tordjman gaining 13 on Monday, which contradicted their internal figures. The recount request process is pending, and no further comments will be issued until a decision is reached.
It is worth noting that in closely contested elections like this one, Élections Québec does not automatically trigger a recount. However, candidates have the option to request a recount within four days of the official certification of the election results.