Dollard Voters Add New Faces to Council Not on Mayor’s “Wish List”

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Dollard-des-Ormeaux’s newly elected council will feature three new faces.

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Newcomers include Anastasia Assimakopoulo, Ryan Brownstein, and Tanya Toledano.

The re-elected incumbents are Errol Johnson (District 2), Max Mickey Guttman (District 3), Morris Vesely (District 5) and Valérie Assouline (District 6). Councilmember Laurence Parent was also acclaimed in District 1.

Mayor Alex Bottausci was hailed for a second term. But before the election, Bottasuci made public his “wish list” of candidates that he wanted elected to the council.

One name that did not appear on the mayor’s wish list was Ryan Brownstein, 33.

The mayor omitted both Ryan Brownstein and his father Herbert, an incumbent councilman, because he hoped to avoid having a father-son duo on the council. The mayor said it could possibly lead to a conflict of interest in council voting.

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But that scenario didn’t materialize when Herbert Brownstein, who served on the council for 16 years, lost to Toledano in District 4.

Toledano had 808 votes (56.07 percent), while Herbert Brownstein got 528 votes (36.64 percent). Eddy Kara was third with 105 (7.29 percent).

However, Ryan Brownstein defeated incumbent Councilman Pulkit Kanawala, the mayor’s pick, in District 7.

Brownstein got 845 votes (or 51.68 percent of the vote), while Kanawala had 790 voters (48.32 percent).

Brownstein, who was also running for a council seat in the 2017 election, said he was grateful that voters gave him the go-ahead this time.

“I worked hard for this win, that’s for sure,” Brownstein said. “I worked really hard in 2017, but this time I worked harder and also smarter. I met with all the different community leaders. “

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“They believed in me and believed in my message and in the positive changes I would like to see for the City of Dollard.”

“The biggest problem overall that I heard (from voters) was concern for safety,” he said. “There has been a lot of concern about speeding. I’m certainly looking for ways to improve traffic calming measures. “

Brownstein said residents also raised concerns about crime in Dollard.

“In the last year, there have been a few shootings at Dollard. People are a little nervous about it. Also, there have been car thefts and car thefts. So because people have a perception of crime, I want to look at ways that we can increase security. “

Brownstein said the mayor’s “wish list” had an effect on the election, “but now I’m looking to put that behind us. I fully intend to be friendly with the mayor and work together for the benefit of the residents of DDO.

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“I want to be a team player and work with the other council members.”

Ryan Brownstein also wants to see more transparency with the monthly council meetings.

“I want the council meetings to be broadcast on video for people to see, or for the meetings to be reopened to the public.”

You also want to see the question period portion of the public meetings printed in the minutes on the city’s website.

Meanwhile, Assimakopoulos won a race of five in District 8. He was also not on the mayor’s “wish list”.

After the election, Bottausci welcomed the newly elected councilors.

“I am pleased to welcome and congratulate our new team of councilors to our council,” he stated. “After weeks and months of knocking on doors and talking to residents about issues that are important to them, now is the time to work together in their best interests and I am confident that together we will accomplish great things for our amazing city.”

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