By Geneviève April
www.thesuburban.com
The voting preferences of Chomedey’s large Greek community will have an important influence on determining who will serve as the district’s next city councillor in the upcoming election, Nov. 3.
The Suburban called all of the district’s four candidates for city council to ask whether they thought that the three female Greek candidates might split Chomedey’s Greek vote, permitting Option Laval’s candidate Tony Valente to gain office.
Patricia Lagopatis, who is running for Parti au service du citoyen, says that the gender of the candidates will not, in her opinion, influence voters.
“For sure, when you have three Greek candidates, it will split the vote,” she acknowledged. “But it’s really not a matter of male versus female or nationality. It’s also the party, the platform and the background of the individual that will make the difference.”
“People should look at the candidates’ credentials,” encouraged Action Laval candidate Aglaia Revelakis.
She said that Laval residents should examine the candidate’s qualifications as well as those of the party that he or she represents.
Having spoken to many Chomedey citizens while going door to door, Mouvement lavallois candidate Stella Tzinsis observed that people are confused by too little information about too many parties.
“It’s my first time in politics, and I have no idea what the outcome of vote will look like,” she admitted. “I think what really matters is to have a connection with the candidate. It helps tremendously to be Greek when running in Chomedey, but it is really not the only thing. What’s important is to really know Chomedey, to be well aware of the specifics of the neighborhood.”
Despite six calls to Valente over the course of last week, The Suburban was unable to reach the Option Laval candidate for comment.