This Côte Saint-Luc resident’s last-minute vote may have changed the city’s fate

Albert Zbily admits he almost didn't vote in Sunday’s municipal election, but his last-minute change of mind may have changed the city's fate.

Côte Saint-Luc resident Albert Zbily admits he almost didn’t vote in Sunday’s municipal election.

“I’ve never voted municipal, ever. It’s just not something I do. I never did it before,” he tells CTV News, adding a neighbour had texted him to remind him to vote. “I said, ‘Well, you know what? Maybe I should do my civic duty for once.’”

At the 11th hour – and out of sheer boredom – Zbily says he walked over to his polling station and cast his first-ever vote for his friend, David Tordjman.

Tordjman, a former city councillor, went on to beat incumbent Côte Saint-Luc mayor Mitchell Brownstein by a single vote.

“I’m in complete shock. I’m delighted for him, but I’m beyond words,” Zbily said. “When I saw one vote, I was like, ‘It can’t be. It can’t be. No way is this true that my vote made a difference.’ But you know what? I think this is sort of a great lesson in democracy, that even a lowly, little citizen like me makes a difference.”

Zbily says the experience has taught him a valuable lesson in municipal politics and promises to vote in the next election.

Demand for recount

Tuesday, Brownstein confirmed he would be demanding a recount.

“[We] will not have any further statement until our request for recount is heard,” said Lawrence Bergman, Brownstein’s campaign chair, in a statement to CTV News.

For his part, Tordjman explains that on Sunday night, he asked election representatives in the city to officialize the numbers.

• READ MORE: Incumbent Côte Saint-Luc mayor demands recount after losing by 1 vote

“The result is that I won by one single vote,” he said. “These are the official final results that I’m being told by Elections Quebec.”

He notes that it is Brownstein’s judicial right to ask for a review.

“What it goes to show is that every vote counts, and I appreciate every single vote that the residents of Côte Saint-Luc put out for me in this election,” he said.

If the results remain as is, Tordjman says he’s “excited” to implement the platform on which he ran.

“Security, investment in our infrastructure and development within the city to pay for all of these things and reduce our debt,” he said.

Elections Quebec shows Tordjman winning with 50.01 per cent of the vote and 4,196 ballots.

Brownstein was recorded with 49.99 per cent of the vote, or 4,195 ballots.

Voter turnout in the on-island city was recorded at 36.9 per cent.

Of 23,359 registered electors, there were 8,391 valid ballot papers and 229 rejected votes.