Duncan Campbell named City's new Director General

Campbell brings to Westmount more than 20 years' experience in municipal affairs and an excellent track record in municipal management. His appointment will be ratified at the August council meeting, and he will assume his duties on Monday, Sept. 29. "Municipal excellence is core to our approach," said Marks. "We could not have hoped finding a better candidate than Duncan Campbell. Duncan's appointment represents continuity in the kind of administration that Westmount has typically known. "After having a strong DG for many years who was well-known and well-connected to the community, we were pleased to have Mr. Campbell accept our offer," she added. "He has a very similar approach to municipal management and relations with citizens as his predecessor, Bruce St. Louis, which will make the transition far easier than originally expected. He really enjoys and cares about working in municipalities."

As a former assistant director general for the City of Montreal, Campbell was responsible for coordinating the administration for 11 of the 27 former Montreal-island cities, which were merged into boroughs in 2002 under the provincial government's forced municipal mergers.

Prior to that, he spent 14 years as director general of Town of Mont-Royal, where, among his achievements, he spearheaded innovative approaches to municipal administration, and developed a long term strategic plan for that city's management. "The role of a director general is to be responsive not only to city council, but to the citizens that I serve, as well," said Campbell. "I’m excited and feel very fortunate to join the City of Westmount and look forward to the many challenges that lie ahead."

During his years in TMR, Campbell was known for a straightforward style of management and communication — concentrating on details and facts, with a fair degree of detachment. "The culture, as well as the approach to municipal management, as far as I can see at this point, are somewhat similar," Campbell said about the similarities between T.M.R. and Westmount. He acknowledged that one of the reasons he accepted to come work for Westmount was that the position was a rare opportunity. "For the last number of years, one thing I did miss from my time in TMR was the day-to-day operations," he said. "I felt that the culture and the fit was somewhat similar to what TMR was like … If Westmount was willing to take me on as director general, that this was a personal opportunity for me to get back into day-to-day management of a first-class municipality."

Campbell and St. Louis share the distinction of being members of a select group of Montreal suburban city managers who have served West End communities for decades. In the years prior to the megacity mergers, they often shared information and helped negotiate inter-municipal agreements on common issues, such as fire protection. Campbell and St. Louis are also both West Island residents. "It's a tough act to follow," Campbell said about his colleague's retirement. "But certainly, as I said to the Westmount council and the department heads, we are going to try and make this as seamless a transition as possible and I think we share many of the common values. Certainly for the citizens of Westmount, hopefully it won't be too difficult a change. In fact, I don't think it'll be a difficult change at all."