Serge Bonin, leader of the Lévis opposition and candidate for mayor, judges that mayor Gilles Lehouillier, in office since 2013, is “at the end of his rope” and that he “has done the trick”.
This is what the leader of Repensons Lévis mentioned this week at Journal during an interview at the start of the year.
The end of 2024 was eventful in Lévis. The Lehouillier administration had to amend its 2025 budget, in a hurry, and cancel the surtax on vacant land served. At the same time, Mayor Lehouillier expressed doubts about the independence of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec Infra (CDPQI), criticized its CITÉ plan for mobility and questioned the real desire of the Legault government to carry out the 3e lien.
«Il [M. Lehouillier] missed his last report card. Lévis is ripe to move on,” said Mr. Bonin, who has been a municipal councilor for three years, but whose party only has two elected officials.
According to him, “three municipal mandates, I think we have done the trick. We gave our energy. We gave impetus to projects. But what he was able to put in place ended badly.”
“All eggs in one basket”
While he recognizes certain achievements of Mayor Lehouillier, such as better access to the river and the successful redevelopment of Quai Paquet, Serge Bonin especially highlights “poor planning” which recently led the City to interrupt real estate development on two thirds of its territory. due to the high pressure on the wastewater treatment network.
The opponent also criticizes the mayor for having put “all his eggs” in the 3e link “while neglecting sustainable mobility” on its own territory. “He has bet everything on it and he finds himself a little stuck in the water because it is clearly not working in the short term,” he lamented.
Considering that the reserved lanes, currently under construction on Boulevard Guillaume-Couture, will not make it possible to improve the modal share in terms of transport, Mr. Bonin said he was in favor of a Rapid Bus Service (SRB), such as recommended in the June 2024 CDPQI report. “The longer we wait, the more expensive it will be,” he warned.
Imminent announcement
If he were to be elected as mayor, Serge Bonin promises to “decentralize power” and give more teeth to the district councils. The public consultation process for various projects would be “less opaque” and “less complex” for citizens to follow, he said. Regretting the “explosion of debt” under the Lehouillier era, he assured that he will clean up municipal finances.
Mr. Lehouillier’s office said that the mayor will make his intentions known regarding his political future by the end of January or the beginning of February. Former Liberal MP, Gilles Lehouillier, 71, has been the mayor of Lévis since November 2013.
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