Martine Beaugrand acclaimed as Laval’s latest lame duck mayor

When tasked with choosing a mayor to sit for a maximum of four months, there's not much reason in delaying the process.

That appears to be the tack taken by city councillors in Laval, Que., who were forced to select yet another interim mayor after the recent resignations of two previous leaders, one who now faces charges in a massive corruption probe and one embroiled in a bit of a prostitution scandal.

Coun. Martine Beaugrand was acclaimed as interim mayor of Laval, which borders on Montreal, 15 minutes after nominations closed Wednesday evening. She becomes the city's first female mayor and third civic leader in the past eight months.

Laval's turnstile leadership began late last year, when mayor Gilles Vaillancourt stepped down in November amid corruption allegations. He was later charged with several counts, including gangsterism. Vaillancourt was replaced by Alexandre Duplessis, who lasted seven months as interim mayor before stepped aside when his name was linked to allegations of solicitation late last month.

The latest resignation tasked council with again finding a temporary replacement to sit until the general election on November 3. Nominations were to be made on Wednesday, but when Beaugrand was the only name put forward she was acclaimed to the position.

[ Related: Laval gets new interim mayor in uncontested race ]

"I consider the coming weeks as mayor with the serenity and rigor that characterizes me," said Ms. Beaugrand said in a statement, translated from French. "The last few months have been difficult for Laval and the image of the city was quite scratched. This period is now behind us as I intend to put all my energies to support the municipal government in the context of greater political stability. "

Beaugrand has been Faberville district councillor since 2009 and is a former member of the Parti PRO des Lavallois, a municipal party that dissolved when Vaillancourt resigned last year.

The Montreal Gazette reports that Beaugrand and one other councillor, France Dubreuil, remain the only two members of council who are not currently embroiled in a massive corruption investigation targeting the Montreal area.

"All the other 18 sitting councillors are alleged to have accepted envelopes of cash from party officials in exchange for campaign donations," the newspaper writes.

[ More Brew: Laval interim mayor Alexandre Duplessis resigns ]

Corruption probes have caused problems in Montreal as well, leaving the city in a similar state of ramshackle leadership.

Last month, Laurent Blanchard was elected the latest interim mayor of Montreal. His crowning followed the resignation of former interim mayor Michael Applebaum, charged with corruption in connection to two real estate deals, and the departure of former mayor Gerald Tremblay, who stepped down amid allegations in November, but has not been charged.

Similar to Beaugrand, Blanchard vowed to help add polish to his city’s smudged reputation. In both cases, they’ve got about four months to do it.

And then it becomes someone else’s problem.

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