Monday, November 2nd, 2009
Quebec town councillor dies of heart attack moments after re-election
MONTREAL - One minute, popular local politician Pierre Lambert was revelling in his re-election to town council.
The next, he was sprawled on the floor of city hall, supporters trying feverishly to revive him from a devastating heart attack without success.
Lambert's death after a close-fought election has stunned the community of Notre-Dame-des-Prairies, 65 kilometres northeast of Montreal.
But Mayor Alain Larue, who knew Lambert for close to a quarter-century, said his colleague went with a smile.
"The results were much closer than he thought but when he got them he was exuberant and joyful," Larue said. "He left us in a happy state because he had done his job."
Due to turn 70 in a few weeks, Lambert had been repeatedly re-elected to town council for more than 20 years. This election was tougher than usual. He watched the results with supporters on Sunday night.
He began to feel ill and collapsed right after the results were known. Supporters sprang to his aid, administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation as an ambulance was called.
"The ambulance arrived a few minutes later and he was transported to hospital where he was declared dead," said Carol Henri, director-general of the town.
Lambert knew he had managed a nail-biter win before he died, a sombre Henri said.
"He knew he was re-elected."
Lambert, who was involved in overseeing the town's finances, had been expected to win re-election but took victory by a slim margin, with about 52 per cent of the vote in his district.
Politics were Lambert's passion and a local newspaper floated the idea before the election that he might even run for mayor.
"He was a man who was very, very, very active - he couldn't stay in one spot," Larue recalled in a telephone interview on Monday. "He loved to meet with people."
Larue said it had been a difficult campaign and the door-to-door campaigning could sometimes be tough for someone as dedicated to public service as Lambert, Larue said.
A lot of people gave him an earful about what they thought of local government, something that was reflected in Sunday's results.
"We got a message that was not easy to accept," Larue said.
Still, Larue said he never saw his colleague's demise coming.
"It was a surprise," Larue said.
"He was 69 and it's certain he wasn't an athlete. He had a few extra pounds and he was a bon vivant - but generally he had good health."
Lambert, who was a local businessman, is survived by a grown son and daughter. The grandfather is predeceased by his wife, who died several years ago.
Larue said that a byelection will likely be held to replace Lambert but that's not where everyone's thoughts are now.
"Today, we're thinking of his family," he said, adding that Lambert's friends and supporters are still coming to grips with the tragedy.
"It's never easy," the mayor said.
