1987 Gatineau municipal election

An election was held on November 1, 1987, to elect a mayor and councillors in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. Incumbent mayor Gaétan Cousineau was narrowly re-elected over a challenge from former mayor John Luck.

Gaétan Cousineau resigned as mayor in early 1988, and a by-election was held to choose his replacement.^[1]

• Jean Deschênes was born on March 26, 1940, in Sainte-Flavie, Quebec. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Ottawa, began working as a school principal in 1972, and later received a Master of Public Administration degree.^[2] Deschênes first ran for mayor of Gatineau in 1979, losing to incumbent John Luck, and ran a second time in a by-election called after the resignation of Gaetan Cousineau in 1988. He highlighted his skills as an administrator and sought a municipal tax freeze in the latter campaign.^[3] Despite an endorsement from Luck, he finished third against Robert Labine.^[4] He was later elected to the Gatineau city council in 1995, representing the city’s fifth ward.^[5] In 1996, Deschênes was arrested by Gatineau police under very controversial circumstances while returning home from a charity function; despite passing three breathalyzer tests, he was taken to the station in handcuffs and given a fourth test before being released. The officers were later reprimanded for not following proper procedure. At the time of the incident, Deschênes chaired a city committee that was looking into cutbacks for city staff, including the police; he, and many others, later described the police actions as intimidation and harassment.^[6] He was narrowly defeated by Joseph de Sylva in 1999.^[7] He also sought election in 2001, but was defeated.^[8] Deschênes has been active in the Liberal Party of Canada.^[9]

• Hubert Leroux was born in Hawkesbury, Ontario. An insurance broker, he served on the Gatineau city council from 1979 to 1987.^[10] Known as a maverick politician, Leroux was one of only two councillors to vote against the city's 1986 budget, arguing that more spending cuts could have been made.^[11] He also opposed Mayor Gaétan Cousineau's plans for a new city hall building.^[12] He lost to Richard Canuel in the 1987 election.^[13] He was forty-eight years old during the 1988 election and described himself as a "small-c" conservative.^[14] The latter point notwithstanding, he called for a significant business tax increase to keep property taxes down.^[15]

Sources: "Final official results of weekend Outaouais civic elections," Ottawa Citizen, 6 November 1987, C3; "Cousineau wins, Luck continues to contest result" [mayoral recount], Ottawa Citizen, 16 November 1987, C1; David Gamble, "Labine wins tight race for mayor in Gatineau," Ottawa Citizen, 6 June 1988, A1.