De Castell will run in Dist. 8

With 10 years of council experience under his belt, John de Castell announced this week that he will seek another term as city councillor in District 8, in the southeast section of Westmount.

The decision to run again, he said, was reached after a great deal of contemplation.

De Castell was first elected to Westmount council in 1999, served as borough councillor during the four-year merger period, and was re-elected to his current seat in District 8 in 2005.

When asked if he had been asked to run again by Peter Trent, de Castell said he recently spoke to the former mayor, with whom he served on the "stunted" council elected in 1999, but his candidacy was not discussed. Still, he said, he would look forward to working with Trent again. "We didn't do so badly the last time we worked together," he said of the demerger battle. "So I expect we can do the same again."

The viability of de Castell's candidacy for another term had been uncertain, as the City of Montreal plans to demolish his Selby Street home as part of the controversial Turcot Exchange proposal. Without a home in Westmount, he could not legally serve on city council — but he has decided to run regardless of the plans which may or may not be carried out within the next four years. "This is not a decision made lightly," he said on Tuesday. "But damned if I'll let someone else make this decision for me," he said.