Win or lose, Souvlaki George has many fans in the West End

But George Pentsos, the affable, eminently generous owner of NDG’s Souvlaki George (6995 Monkland, corner Coronation, 514-482-0040), ran undaunted by the fact he was going up against the likes of the incumbent, independent Jeremy Searle, and the eventual winner, Union Montreal’s Susan Clarke. In fact, running for Louise Sullivan’s Parti Montreal Ville Marie, he managed to garner 744 votes. That’s almost a third of the total, readers... as impressive as possible for a candidate with almost no team to speak of, running virtually on personality and reputation alone.

I had the extreme pleasure of sitting down with George, a dead ringer for Genesis drummer Phil Collins (and check out George’s You Tube video impersonating same for a good laugh), at his establishment the other day and discussing local politics, specifically why such a nice guy wants to play in such a dirty field.

“Well, I thought I could add something to our borough, that I could do a lot to correct the relationship between our citizens and politicians. They (the people) deserve far better than they have been getting,” said the native of Vironia, Greece, whose family hails from Salonica historically. He came here as a 26 year old, attended school to learn the ropes of the hospitality industry, and now, aged 50, has owned this restaurant for 23 years.

George felt Sullivan had the right stuff to become mayor of Montreal and minced no words when discussing the faults and foibles of the other candidates, but does believe his opponent, Susan Clarke, deserved her victory over Searle. “She is a fine lady,” he said. “She is hardworking, honest and humble... but if she decides to step down after one or two terms, I won’t hesitate to run again.”

He also praised the work of just-retired Loyola councillor Warren Allmand, whom I have always deemed a consummate pro in this space. “Warren Allmand is the Gretzky of Canadian politics,” George commented. “He has been the elegant player in a game with so many holes and dirt that it has almost been rendered irrelevant.”

Additionally, while George praised the work of Cotes des Neiges-Notre Dame de Grace borough mayor Michael Applebaum and was pleased with his re-election, I mentioned something I have always taken issue with: the addition of parking meters to Monkland Avenue. George came as close to becoming agitated as I saw to that point.

“That is something I thought was terrible,” he admitted. “Drivers either don’t want to pay for parking, so they shop someplace else, hurting the small businesses in the area, or they park for free in front of residences, taking up space normally used by homeowners. It was not a smart move.”

One can only hope Souvlaki George makes it onto council sometime in the future. Till then, his stellar Greek cuisine and cerebral insight into matters big and small will just have to do.

This past weekend, I started volunteering at Cavendish Mall’s vaccination clinic, organized through CLSC Rene Cassin, and I was quite impressed. Sunday went very smoothly and the line up moved steadily along, without trouble, save for one young pregnant woman who chewed out a senior with multiple sclerosis because she claimed she had cut ahead of her. All I can say, people, is that rudeness at times of crisis is a strictly human trait. Animals don’t even act this uncivilly. Try to show a bit of compassion when it’s your turn to line up. And, for God’s sake, ignore the idiots on the Internet and get your shots!