Five years later

"In spite of the fact that the PQ merged us against our will, we got our city back! In spite of the fact that the Liberals tried to stop us from demerging, we got our city back! And in spite of Mayor Tremblay's misinformation, we got our city back!"

Those triumphant words, shouted over the commotion at City Hall by a jubilant former mayor Peter Trent, capped off a long, gruelling campaign fraught with bureaucratic obstacles and debate.

There was the good, the bad, and the downright ridiculous. I am reminded of Vision Montreal borough mayoral candidate Richard McConomy, who showed up for the 2001 Meet the Candidates evening with three bodyguards in tow, ostensibly for protection from the very people he hoped would vote for him. Then there was Natalie Fotopulos, chair of the referendum's pro-Montreal 'No' committee, who cried foul when the Examiner would not run an especially stupid 'Wanted' poster she submitted, which called for the identity of a 'mystery' man who had spoken in support of Westmount at a recent public meeting. The reason for not running that item was that there was no mystery at all. The man in question was Howard Hoppenheim, pictured and clearly identified in the previous issue. To publish that 'Wanted' piece would have made the entire 'No' committee look like idiots at a crucial time in their campaign, but they didn't seem to care.

Yes, it was a crazy time — Westmount's own Grande Noirceur — but it brought out the best in Westmount, for the rallying of residents in that time of crisis was indeed inspiring. We can be thankful that Westmount is no longer run by Montreal, with all its top-heavy bureaucratic problems, Mafia allegations, etc., but then there is that twinge of nostalgia for the good old days when everyone rallied for a cause. A few raised voices at a Westmount Municipal Association meeting seem downright lame compared to the passionate, heroic demerger campaign that ushered Westmount into the 21st century.