Stéphane Gendron
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Stéphane Gendron (born December 22, 1967, in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu) is the current mayor of Huntingdon, Quebec, Canada and a political analyst for several media outlets. He hosted the current affairs TV show "L'avocat et le diable" on the TQS network from which he was fired in December 2006 and hosted a radio show on Montreal-based station 98,5 FM from March 2005 until March 2007.
Gendron gained media attention by enacting a municipal curfew forcing minors to stay off the street after 10 p.m. in Huntingdon, in an attempt to reduce juvenile crime. Following threats of litigation, the municipal council eventually withdrew the proposed curfew.
Gendron is a graduate of Collège Jean de la Mennais in La Prairie and has a law degree from the Université de Montreal and master's degree in history from the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
Prior to his political and media career, Gendron practiced law and taught at the CEGEP level. He was also a political aide to former Parti Québécois politician Jean Garon. He was recently approached by the Conservative Party of Canada to be a candidate for the next federal election [1]. Gendron is viewed as conservative despite being in favour of same-sex marriage and legalized abortion [2].
Gendron is known for making controversial statements. He stated in an August 2006 interview with Le Soleil that Israelis are modern-day Nazis ("Les Israéliens, ce sont les nazis des temps modernes") [3]; he later claimed that he only referred to the current Government of Israel, and that it was not exaggerated to compare that government with the Nazis [4]. In 2005, he claimed that Quebec premier Jean Charest was a "murderer" ("meurtrier") for his government's initial refusal to subsidize Herceptin, a new drug against breast cancer [5]; he later apologized for these comments after being served legal papers [6].
Gendron was recently fired from TQS because they claim they received multiple complaints from the CRTC.
In February 2007, Gendron declined a bid to run for the Parti Québécois in his hometown riding of Huntingdon, claiming family reasons and the wish to complete his current mayor mandate. During the 2007 Quebec general election, he supported the Action démocratique du Québec party.
