I’m convinced that Montréal is moving forward, and I am committed to making it happen!

Helen Fotopulos

TREMBLAY-APPLEBAUM Team

Candidate for City Council in the district of Côte-des Neiges

November 1, 2009 municipal election

Montréal is my city… For more than 30 years involved at City Hall, I have pursued my commitment and passion for Montréal, and for Montrealers to live in harmony.

I am seeking the post of City Councillor to serve the citizens of the district of Côte-des-Neiges, where I have lived for 26 years and feel completely at home! As part of the Tremblay-Applebaum team, I will work with my colleagues in the borough to defend our democracy at the service of Montrealers, helping this exceptional neighbourhood continue to evolve!

Montréal is moving forward …

... by managing neighbourhood serves which work because we continue to put Montrealers at the centre of our action. I will put the same energy into improving the quality of services in Côte-des-Neiges as I have over the past eight years with Union Montréal. Using our experience and teamwork, we have been effective at creating and completing projects effectively, and have always sought solutions that do not compromise the quality of services to the population. As the Mayor of Plateau Mont-Royal, my team and I succeeded in putting city planning at the service of the quality of life in the neighbourhood, and we won the Ovation Award for this from the Union des municipalités du Québec in 2007.

… by planning urban transport that works. When it comes time to meet the needs of Côte-des-Neiges, I can draw on achievements, including an urban transportation plan that I implemented with my colleagues in Plateau-Mont-Royal. This included infrastructure, traffic calming measures, new bike paths, the implementation of BIXI… in short, a plan that succeeded. Another major accomplishment I am proud of: the new Pine/Park Interchange! All of these accomplishments add up to a major asset of experience and a track record of achievement that I will take into the job as City Councillor for the Côtes-des-Neiges district, with the Tremblay-Applebaum team.

… by taking care of the changing housing stock. In Côte-des-Neiges, more than 40% of households are single-parent families. I will be particularly attentive to their needs for housing. Since Montrealers gave us a mandate to help young families, Team Tremblay has already helped to create nearly 25,000 low income and affordable housing units!

… by taking action on the environment. I will take care of the district of Côte-des Neiges, its parks and green spaces to be protected or improved, around Mount Royal and the Côte-des-Neiges cemetery, as I have done in the dossiers for a green and blue Montréal. This is an area where I am proud of what I’ve already done, and am confident about new challenges.

In terms of responsibilities at the Executive Committee of the City, I have been responsible for the policy on trees and for the protection of Mount Royal. Beyond that, my responsibility as Mayor of the Plateau Mont-Royal borough helped to position my team and me, so that we could push for the revitalization of parks, reforestation and tree planting, green alleys and green roofs. The success of these efforts earned us a Phénix environmental award.

… by recognizing the place of women in the city. I am particularly proud of successfully developing the first policy for equality between men and women. This is a dossier that I carried for our team, and the policy was adopted in 2008 by the Montréal Municipal Council.

… by committing ourselves to the promotion of culture. In Côte-des-Neiges, the presence of the Université de Montréal, a public library a maison de la culture, as well as various bookstores and tourist attractions like the Saint Joseph Oratory, suggest great opportunities for partnership on cultural dossiers.

For Montréal, as for the boroughs, artistic life and cultural tools remain at the heart of my involvement. I believe that artists, their creativity, and their cultural universe of great diversity, as well as the places where this cultural wealth is expressed, give Montréal and its neighbourhoods great value!

Under the UNION MONTREAL banner:

• We have put life into the boroughs, by decentralizing the political action;
• We have created local services and made them work;
• We have given the citizen a voice in the process and avenues of recourse;
• We have increased the cultural space in the life of Montrealers, notably with the creation of the quartier des spectacles.

Citizens of the district of Côte-des Neiges, if you join your passion for Montréal with mine, we can keep Montréal moving forward!

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