Valérie Plante To Become Montreal's First Female Mayor; Defeats Denis Coderre

MONTREAL - Valérie Plante scored a stunning upset in Montreal's mayoral election on Sunday, defeating incumbent Denis Coderre to become the first woman to win the post.

Coderre said just after 10:30 p.m. that he'd called Plante to congratulate her. He later announced he was leaving municipal politics.

No left turn for London's new mayor

Everyone on the left is bound to welcome Sadiq Khan's clear victory over Tory Zac Goldsmith to become London's new mayor in succession to Boris Johnson. Khan took 44 per cent of the vote to Goldsmith's 35 per cent, ending eight years of Tory rule at city hall.

The population of London is one of the most ethnically diverse in the world, with 44 per cent of the city's 8.6 million people from minority backgrounds. The election of a Muslim bus-driver's son who grew up on a council estate as mayor is fitting testimony to that, and also a welcome riposte to the racist campaign waged by the Tories.

Embattled Ferguson Mayor Suggests Activists Stop Protesting, Lobby Lawmakers Instead

FERGUSON, Mo. -- Dozens of people attended a panel discussion Monday night about how to respond to suggestions laid out last week by the Ferguson Commission, which was tasked with studying the St. Louis area and proposing ways of moving forward after a year of protests and unrest.

At the "#BeyondFerguson" town hall panel, which was hosted by St. Louis Public Radio and took place at Wellsprings Church -- a frequent meeting spot for activists and political groups since last August -- a group of community leaders addressed the commission's final report. The 16-member, governor-appointed commission was tasked with studying the community and sharing the underlying causes for the unrest that followed the death unarmed black teenager Michael Brown last year. Brown was fatally shot by a white police officer, and his death sparked ongoing protests and a national discussion on racial inequality and police brutality in America.

Brampton Mayor Susan Fennell racks up $186,000 in expenses

Brampton Mayor Susan Fennell has expensed taxpayers over the past three years for items such as $2,160 on personalized barbecue aprons, $3,191 for a seat upgrade on a trip to India, $1,326 for Mandarin lessons and $1,500 for an orchestra performance.

The recently disclosed expenses from December 2010 to September 2013 total more than $186,000. Some residents are expressing outrage about the expenses after the figures were released last week, in response to a freedom of information request by the Brampton Guardian.

Election Days, Opening Nights

Only two offices in American political life have a double function, one official and the other ceremonial, offering, and demanding, a second role that everyone knows about, but no one quite articulates. The Presidency is one: it’s both political and monarchical. He (or, soon, she) gets the top job in politics, and is also the embodiment of the state. Presidents who do both jobs passably well—Reagan and Kennedy, and Obama, too—get many a break from their constituents, and from the history books. We want a guy who looks the part. Those who never did—Nixon, Carter—get kicked around, perhaps unduly.

Montreal mayor steps down amid corruption allegationscanad

After months of speculation about his future in politics, Gérald Tremblay has stepped down from his position as mayor of Montreal.

"I am leaving public life," said Tremblay on Monday evening at a hastily organized news conference at Montreal's city hall.

Parents should have more legal leeway in spanking: London mayor

Boris Johnson sympathizes with parents who just aren’t sure how hard they can smack their children – legally speaking.

The mayor of London told the BBC he thinks parents should have more leeway, comments in line with the argument that last summer’s London riots were, in part, caused by parents easing up on physical punishment.

“People do feel anxious about imposing discipline on their children, whether the law will support them...,” he told the BBC.

“Parents ... should be seen as the natural figures of authority.”

A U.K. law in place since 2004 allows parents to smack their kids without causing the “reddening of the skin,” according to The Telegraph.