Montreal will get its new, new mayor Tuesday

MONTREAL – Montreal will have its next interim mayor — the third mayor in less than a year — early next week.

The city clerk’s office has announced a vote will be held during a special meeting of council next Tuesday.

A handful of councillors have been named as potential successors to Michael Applebaum, who stepped down as interim mayor after being arrested on corruption-related charges.

For now, the city’s pro-mayor will be acting mayor until next week’s vote.

Councillors will have until Friday afternoon to put forth their candidacy, with a vote to come after the long holiday weekend in Quebec.

A handful of councillors have said they’ll spend this week weighing whether or not to run.

The next interim mayor might not hold the post for long: a municipal vote is scheduled for November and none of the presumed contenders are seeking the temporary job.

There are currently 62 active city councillors on the 65-seat council and the new interim mayor must be chosen from among them. Of the sitting councillors, 41 sit as independents.

Applebaum, the man he replaced, Gerald Tremblay, and a long-time municipal politician, Claude Trudel, have all quit their seats in the past year.

Applebaum was arrested by anti-corruption police on Monday and told he was facing criminal charges related to city business dealings in his former neighbourhood.

He faces 14 charges, but Applebaum says he’s innocent.

Applebaum won the interim job last November with the promise of a multi-party coalition and a vow to root out corruption.

He had replaced Tremblay, a three-term mayor, late last year after the latter resigned in scandal following damning testimony at Quebec’s corruption inquiry.

Applebaum is to appear in court later this year.