11 Quebec towns will be without a mayor after elections
CBC
After 16 years of municipal politics, including 13 as mayor, Jean Bergeron was ready to hang up his skates.
No one, on the other hand, offered to put them on after him.
So the 62-year-old retiree will serve yet another term as mayor of Lotbinière, Que., a town of about 800 people on the southern bank of the St. Lawrence River, about halfway between Trois-Rivières and Quebec City.
If he didn't, the town would be one of 11 in Quebec without a mayor come the Nov. 7 election because there are simply no candidates willing to take on the job.
However, five out of the six council seats remain vacant in Lotbinière.
Coun. Philippe Jean is the only one who decided to stay on for another four years, knowing there would be no one to replace him if he didn't join the mayor in another mandate.
"Young people should get interested," he said. "It's your future. You're making your surroundings better and building your community for your retirement as well."