Alain Tassé is a politician in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He served on the Montreal city council from 2005 to 2013, initially as a member of the Montreal Island Citizens Union (MICU)/Union Montreal (UM) party and later as an independent. From 2012 to 2013, he was a member of the Montreal executive committee (i.e., the municipal cabinet). At an earlier time in his life, he held a leading position in the New Democratic Party in Quebec and was a candidate for the House of Commons of Canada.
Private career Tassé's 2013 campaign literature identified him as the owner of a property management firm specializing in the oversight of non-profit housing.Pierre Boulanger, "Alain Tassé, candidat de la Coalition Montréal", Le Messager Verdun, 22 October 2013, accessed 13 March 2017.
New Democratic Party activist Tassé was a candidate for the Canadian House of Commons in the 1988 Canadian federal election, running for the New Democratic Party in Verdun—Saint-Paul. He finished third against Progressive Conservative Gilbert Chartrand.
The New Democratic Party experienced serious internal divisions in 1989 over the nature and extent of its support for the proposed Meech Lake Accord on constitutional reform. In December 1989, delegates at the party's convention voted to seek improvements to the accord via a series of amendments. This decision was opposed by many Quebec delegates, particularly those who identified as Quebec nationalists and who opposed any changes to the original text. Tassé was among those opposing the decision; he was quoted as saying, "I'm a socialist before I'm a nationalist, but I remain a (Quebec) nationalist."Graham Fraser and Alan Freeman, "NDP CHOOSES A LEADER Delegates avoid splitting party, vote to improve, change Meech," Globe and Mail, 2 December 1989, A10.
Tassé was chosen as interim president of the federal wing of the New Democratic Party in Quebec in June 1990."NDP Quebec wing picks new chief," Montreal Gazette, 19 June 1990, A3. The provincial wing of the Quebec NDP had broken away from the federal party the previous year, largely due to divisions over Quebec sovereignty. See Peter Kuitenbrouwer, "Quebec NDP splits from federal party," Montreal Gazette, 1 May 1989, A1. A newspaper report from March 1991 described Tassé as continuing to hold the office of president. He stood down from the position in early 1991 and became special assistant on Quebec issues to federal party leader Audrey McLaughlin, a position he continued to hold through to the 1993 Canadian federal election.Edison Stewart, "PM eyes meeting with opposition on unity stand, Toronto Star, 5 April 1991, A13.Andy Riga, "Want to meet Charest? It will only cost you $500," Montreal Gazette, 9 October 1993, A12. In June 1991, he was involved in developing a compromise resolution on constitutional reform intended to win support for the party in both Quebec and Western Canada.Geoffrey York, "NDP tries to placate Quebec and West," Globe and Mail, 7 June 1991, A1.
Municipal politician Tassé unsuccessfully sought election to the Verdun city council in 1985, running as a candidate of the Parti contre l'annexion de Verdun (Verdun Anti-Annexation Party), which opposed a proposed merger of Verdun with Montreal.Daniel Kucharsky, "Verdun voters reject annexation backers," Montreal Gazette, 5 November 1985, A1. See also Ingrid Peritz & Daniel Kurcharsky, "Montreal wants talks on Nun's Island," Montreal Gazette, 5 November 1985, A5. He was elected in the 1993 municipal election as a member of Georges Bossé's Parti d'action municipale (Municipal Action Party) and served for the next four years. He sought re-election in 1997 but was defeated."Results from races for mayor, council," Montreal Gazette, 3 November 1997, A6.
Verdun was subsequently annexed to Montreal on January 1, 2002, and Tassé was elected to the Montreal city council in 2005, winning in the Desmarchais-Crawford division in that year's municipal election. The Montreal Island Citizens Union won a majority on council, and Tassé served as a backbench supporter of Gérald Tremblay administration. He was re-elected in the 2009 election, which was won by Tremblay's renamed Union Montreal party. Following this election, Tassé served on the city's task force dealing with bedbug infestations"Pack tight, don't let the bedbugs bite; Tip: Avoid picking up furniture from the curb, even if it looks good," Montreal Gazette, 29 June 2011, A6. and oversaw the establishment of an open-data portal for municipal information.Roberto Rocha, "City makes data available on Web," Montreal Gazette, 28 October 2011, A6.
The Union Montreal party fell into crisis in late 2012, after serious allegations of corruption were made about the party at the Charbonneau Commission. Tassé was one of the first councillors to resign from the party following these revelations, serving as an independent on council as of November 2012.Max Harrold & Lynn Moore, "One thing's clear at city hall: It's confusing; As Union Montreal loses its majority, candidates and parties jockey for position," Montreal Gazette, 15 November 2012, A4. Following Tremblay's resignation as mayor, city council voted to choose a replacement, and Tassé supported Michael Applebaum's successful bid for the position.Sidharta Banerjee, "After 100 years, could Montreal get Anglo mayor? Mais 'oui,' says one candidate," Canadian Press, 14 November 2012. On November 22, 2012, Applebaum named Tassé to his executive committee with responsibility for economic development and urbanization.René Bruemmer, "Applebaum delivers promised mix; Executive committee introduced; Vision gets three seats, Union three, Projet two, plus three independents," Montreal Gazette, 23 November 2012, A4. He retained these responsibilities when Laurent Blanchard succeeded Applebaum as mayor on June 25, 2013, and also gained responsibility for the oversight of water.Tracey Ariel, "Verdun Candidate for Mayor: Alain Tassé", newscoverage.org, 17 October 2013, accessed 10 March 2013.
In January 2013, Tassé announced the beginning of a long-term renewal plan for a derelict area in the northern section of Montreal's Parc Avenue. He indicated that the plan was to turn a former "no man's land" area into a mixed-use neighbourhood, with some continued industrial and commercial presence.René Bruemmer, "New look proposed for Parc Ave.; Development plans to put homes, offices, commercial space in former industrial area," Montreal Gazette, 18 January 2013, A4. He also defended the city's decision to authorize condominium towers in Griffintown without public consultation, saying that the buildings would be an improvement over what had been there previously.Marian Scott, "Citizens key to shaping city," Montreal Gazette, 16 March 2013, B1.
Tassé speculated that he might contest the 2013 municipal election as part of a group of independents in Verdun,Linda Gyulai, "Clock ticking and few mayoral candidates; Corruption scandal blamed for lack of interest in race," Montreal Gazette, 2 April 2013, A4. but he ultimately supported Marcel Côté's bid for mayor and joined the Coalition Montréal party.René Bruemmer, "Marcel Côté throws his hat in the ring; Vows to 'bring together all the elements' of city," Montreal Gazette, 4 July 2013, A3. Under this party's banner, he ran for borough mayor of Verdun and finished fourth against Jean-François Parenteau of Équipe Denis Coderre pour Montréal. Tassé's term on the executive committee ended when Blanchard's administration stood down from office.
Electoral record Municipal (Montreal)
Municipal (Verdun)
Federal
References