Now that he was seated comfortably in his stocking-feet, to let it effectively all hang out, he launched into his beautifully-argued, brilliantly-cogent repertoire of why Westmount should stay as it is, and not be gobbled up by the big, bad megacity.
Even in repose, the run-and-run saga of megacity mania still grabbed his attention. After all, Trent and his council troops are doggedly fighting for Westmount's very survival.
"I could never say, 'Well, if we lose our city, oh I'll run for mayor of the new megacity'-that's not me," Trent said with feeling. He puts to shame some of the other suburban mayors who have already deserted the cause. (More about that later).
To say he is utterly dedicated to his gig as mayor of Westmount is stating the obvious, like saying black is black. "I can't do a poor job, and I have some internal quality control system operating that requires me to do it as well as I can," he said. "I like what I do, so I regard it as a vocation."
And now that the chips are down, he seems to be working even harder. "I'm working with more intensity, sure," he affirmed, "and there's an emotional side to it that wasn't there before because the future of Westmount is at stake."
Emotion may not be something one expects to hear from Mr. Trent apropos his duties as mayor. He has often said, slightly tongue in cheek, that there's more to the job than judging tulips and cutting ribbons. "I haven't cut a ribbon for over a year, actually," he said-especially now since there's the amalgamation battle to fight in tandem with his regular work of creating a sense of community and ensuring the City is well run. Peter Trent though, works (and plays) to the beat of his own drum.
As we talked, the telephone in the hall didn't stop ringing. A lawyer called with some important news about the megacity court case Westmount will be involved in. Then a reporter from The Examiner called with a few questions on the same topic.
Finally, a friend called, and Trent's mood automatically lightened. He said to his friend skittishly, (in a loud voice, for my benefit), "I'm telling her my life story. Of course it's all true!"
His biographical notes (all true!)-which I read between the phone calls-neatly nailed together the facts of his life, his birth, his schooling, his career(s). His achievements are so diverse that one hardly knew where to begin. Just his municipal experience alone, if listed in its entirety, would swallow half of my allotted editorial space. He was the Commissioner of Planning and Redevelopment (1983-1987). He was the driving force behind the Westmount Library project. He was a member of the Environmental Commission of the Montreal Urban Community (MUC) (1991-1994). He was President of the Conference of Montreal Suburban Mayors (1994-1998). In 1998 he became the vice-chairman of the Administration and Finance Committee of the MUC . And those are just for starters!
In his life before politics, Trent studied at McMaster University, then sought his fortune as a chemist at the tender age of 25 when he invented, developed and put into production a composite material that he patented as PolymerGranite, which was used in applications such as building cladding, countertops, floor and roof tiles. He started his own company PBI/Plastibeton Inc., to make and market the product.
"I enjoyed the inventing part, but 99 per cent of my time was spent trying to raise money, which was such a hassle, and incredibly stressful," he recalled. "I raised around $50 million of investment in the firm, but I couldn't do something like that today; I don't have the stamina."
After 18 years he quit the company and he sold his remaining shares to Lone Star and Shell Oil. "The president of Lone Star tried to get me to stay and he said to me, 'Peter, go around the world with your wife for three months at my expense then come back and tell me if you still want to leave.' But I couldn't do that to him because I knew I wanted out."
Francophile Trent had operated his company in French. "I learned to speak French when I came to Montreal before Bill 101 came into place. I still have an accent, but I'm totally comfortable in French. One of the beauties of Quebec is being able to live in a place like Westmount, in an English environment, amid the cultural richness of a francophone society. It's a perfect blend."
He got into politics because he was casting around for something to do after resigning from his job. He served on city council from 1983 to 1987, but decided not to run for a second term. Then, during a sojourn in England, he got a long-distance call from Mayor May Cutler, asking him to come back.
"I was not in favour of May becoming mayor; I resented the fact that she wanted to do it without any experience on council whatsoever. So I told her, 'May, I publicly excoriated you and now you're asking me to come back to council!' She just said she needed me to come back and run the City and to start the library project. She was totally upfront, very direct-there's no beating about the bush with May. So when I came back we made up over quite a few Scotches, then afterwards we agreed that we could have a mariage de raison, politically speaking."
Financially at least, his invention set him up for the eventual job of mayor. "You have to do this job for love because the pay's lousy," he said with a laugh. His salary, after ten years as mayor, was recently raised from $33,000 to $49,000 per annum. And when you consider he puts in a 40- to 50-hour week, excluding official social functions, that's peanuts. "I've been subsidizing the city for years," he said with a chuckle.
He admitted that he is idealistic, and that Westmount has traditionally attracted politicians who do the job because they love the city and not for any self-serving reason. During two terms in office (he's now into his third), Peter Trent has claimed a special authority and respect based on his relationship with The People. When I mentioned his name to residents of this fair city, to neighbours and friends, in relation to this article, the response was always favourable. They all praised his skills as mayor. He has the enviable quality of being an attractive personality to both sexes-an obvious plus for someone in public life. Men seem to respect his intellect while women find him rather dashing and debonair. To illustrate the point, at a recent shindig at Victoria Hall, adoring ladies surrounded him, and he reminded me of a very attractive vicar whose female parishioners had mega-crushes on him. Well, anyway, it was probably the nearest thing to political groupies you're likely to get In Westmount.
My editor at the paper, who knows Trent professionally, commented on his brilliant mind, and because of his diverse talents called him a man for all seasons. It was an apt description, seeing as Trent will be acting in the play of the same name, as King Henry VIII this coming May.
"I sometimes take on too much," Trent admitted when pressed about his busy life. "I was MC for the Quebec Writers Federation gala last November, right in the middle of all the mega-city fiasco, and I had to write a 30-stanza poem and a song. Luckily I got George Bowser to help me write and perform the song."
Trent's quirky side certainly makes him seem more human. He isn't always what you would expect. For example, I thought he would drive a big glam German car. Wrong-he doesn't even own a car, and hasn't for years. He either walks or takes taxis everywhere. "I walk down the street, I meet people, and I'm accessible. My number's in the phone book, anyone can call me," he said, making it sound like an open invitation. "Funnily enough, people usually only call me when there's a power outage at three in the morning, and they cant heat the baby's bottle."
He loves a good party, but he's also happy to stay home. The large three-storey house he once owned on Rosemount Avenue was lovingly renovated by Trent during his 20 years of ownership. He plays the guitar, likes Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones and the blues, and what more could you ask for, he's British to boot!
He was born in Leicestershire and raised in London by intellectual socialists (cool!). He came to Canada when he was 10 years old, settling in Toronto with his quasi-political parents and his two sisters, and was brought up with all the English traditions.
"When we moved to Canada, it was like moving to another room in the same house," he said. "In many ways I lament the fact that Canada has been very quick to get rid of its ties with Britain and its traditions."
But Trent himself has retained his basic British-ness, especially his self-deprecating self-confidence and humour. I'm biased, of course, coming from the same turf, but British men rock. (Just ask Madonna, who recently married an Englishman). In fact, Trent was still a British subject when he ran for council in 1983, and he didn't twig until the last minute that you had to be a Canadian citizen for the job.
"Two weeks before I was supposed to get elected, somebody said, 'Trent, you've got to become a Canadian citizen or else you can't run in the elections,'" he recalled. "I became a Canadian citizen faster than anybody I knew-within a week-but it was for a good cause."
Continued in The Latest Story part II
"The man behind the mayor"
By Jan Kaluza
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