Westmount’s finest

As for my own tribute, at the risk of sounding redundant, I have to state that Bruce St. Louis has been an absolute pleasure to work with.

From our first meeting in early 1998, we got on extremely well. As we shook hands and I said something appropriately formal like, “Pleased to meet you, Mr. St. Louis,” he immediately set the tone for the next decade by replying, “It’s Bruce.”

From that point forward, it was Bruce — to every City employee and every citizen who has regular dealings with the City, you rarely hear the name Mr. St. Louis. He is Bruce to one and all, the embodiment of an open, friendly and transparent City Hall that is — or should be — the envy of most other municipalities.

In 10 years, I have rarely heard a negative word used to describe Westmount’s top administrator. And when I have, it was always from a resident who had some impossibly absurd beef with the City or had never actually spoken to or met the man in person.

We all know that Westmount is a well-run city, and its residents are generally content and appreciative. As a result, most of the news and community-oriented items we publish tend to be positive in nature. But of course this community is not perfect, and there have been various sensitive, bad-news stories over the years — lawsuits against the City, suspensions of City employees, etc. — where the last thing anyone wants is publicity. But even in the most delicate situations, Bruce always understood the media’s role and returned my calls promptly, offering all the information he could legally provide. A lesser person would have avoided journalists altogether, but Bruce never backed down and was always ready with a clear, no-nonsense statement. That speaks volumes about the level of integrity he brought to the office.

Moreover, he even thought to pick up the phone and call me when he thought a City employee’s personal or professional achievement deserved public recognition.

To echo the sentiments recently stated by many City employees and elected officials, he has made my job a lot easier — and for that I am ever grateful.