Premier Jean Charest dubs it his secret weapon and he has once again unleashed it upon his riding. The secret weapon is his wife Michèle Dionne’s campaigning in Sherbrooke to get her husband elected, again.

It’s Dionne eighth election campaign and over the years she has become as familiar in Sherbrooke as the face people see posted on every second  pole down King Street. In fact, some Sherbrooke supporters began looking forward to seeing Dionne as soon as Premier Charest dropped the election writ.
That was the case of one senior at the Villa de l‘Estrie where Quebec’s incumbent First Lady was campaigning Tuesday morning.
“One lady said she was waiting for me, that she had been expecting my visit,” Dionne said, noting Sherbrooke voters understand her husband is too busy crisscrossing the province to spend much time campaigning in his own riding.
“I tell Sherbrooke residents that if my husband is where he is, it’s thanks to you,” Dionne said, noting many constituents are pleased to see her on the campaign trail.  “I feel appreciated and I like that,” Dionne told The Record in an interview at Charest’s campaign headquarters on King Street. “It’s my contribution. My way of helping my husband. When I’m not in Sherbrooke, they are used to seeing me with Jean.”
Dionne, will be spending two days a week in Sherbrooke and the rest of the campaign by her husband’s side.
In Sherbrooke, she spends much of her time encouraging volunteers at campaign central and visiting seniors homes.
“They often comment about “Notre p‘tit Jean” (Our little Jean),” she said. “They have the impression they watched him grow up.”
And many of them did.
Although the Charests now live in Westmount, the incumbent Premier and his wife Michèle were both born and brought up here in Sherbrooke. It’s here that they met in high school, where they wed, and where the young couple started their family.  But soon after, Charest was elected for his first term in the House of Commons and Charest packed up the family and moved to the national capital region.
When Charest made the leap into the provincial political arena, the family decided to set up house in Westmount which was closer to family and friends. They spend some time in the Townships visiting Grandad Claude “Red” Charest, who recently left the family home on Portland Blvd to live in a seniors residence, and Michele’s parents. They also have a country home in North Hatley.
Over the years Dionne has become just as much a pro at campaigning as her husband, except she has a softer touch.
Dionne enthuses about the campaign launch in Sherbrooke last Thursday where hundreds of Townshippers packed Sherbrooke’s golf course for the sendoff.
“It was great to be back among our people,” she said. “It’s always touching to come to Sherbrooke and meet the people who have supported us from the start. It means a lot to us.”
Dionne said that after eight campaigns, both federal and provincial, its nice to see the same familiar faces volunteering to help her husband get re-elected.

For full story, please pick up today's Record

By Rita Legault
Sherbrooke

Thursday, November 13, 2008