# Robert Zambito

Robert Liborio Zambito is a politician in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He was a municipal councilor, most recently serving on Montreal city council representing Saint-Léonard-Est as a member of the Union Montreal party between 2009 and 2013.

## Early life and private career

Zambito was born in Italy. He was a land surveyor in the 1980s and was described as president of Ciment National Inc. and Entreprises de construction Stertalco Inc. in 1986. He later worked as a travel-agency operator and real-estate broker.

## Early political career

Zambito was a Progressive Conservative Party of Quebec candidate in the 1985 provincial election, running in the Montreal division of Dorion. He focused his campaign on subsidized housing, community services for the elderly, and improved services at the city's Jean Talon Hospital. The Progressive Conservatives did not have a strong provincial base in Quebec, and Zambito finished fourth against Liberal Violette Trépanier on election day.
Zambito was narrowly elected to the Saint-Leonard city council in the 1986 municipal election, winning as a Ralliement de Saint-Léonard (RdSL) candidate in the city's twelfth ward. The RdSL won a majority on council, and Zambito initially supported mayor Raymond Renaud. In May 1988, Zambito and seven other councillors, led by Frank Zampino, charged that Renaud's administration was undemocratic and resigned from the party to sit as independents.
Frank Zampino later consolidated the rebel group as the Parti municipal and was elected as Saint-Leonard's mayor in the 1990 municipal election. Zambito was re-elected to council as a Parti municipal candidate in 1990, 1994 and 1998.

## Post-amalgamation

All municipalities on the Island of Montreal were amalgamated into a single government in 2001, and Saint-Leonard became part of the new city of Montreal. Zambito was elected to the Saint-Leonard borough council in the 2001 municipal election as a candidate of the Montreal Island Citizens Union, which was later renamed as Union Montreal. He was re-elected in 2005 and was elected to a seat on the Montreal city council in the 2009 municipal election.
In 2003 Zambito was up for re-election in St-Leonard and joined newly formed political party Equipe Coderre after his former party Union Montreal, under the former Mayor Gerald Tremblay, applied for dissolution after several raids were conducted by Montreal's anti-corruption squad (UPAC) and an investigation by the Charbonneau Commission.
Denis Coderre, mayoral candidate and party leader, removed Zambito from his party after Radio-Canada's investigative program Enquête, was planning to report that he had profited from a land deal by taking advantage of his position on council. Amidst allegations of a kick-back scheme Zambito dropped out of politics and is now working as a real-estate broker for Keller-Williams.

## Italian politics

Zambito ran for the Italian Senate in that country's 2006 general election, as a candidate of Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia party in an overseas Senate division reserved for Italian voters in North America and Central America. He appeared on the ballot as "Liborio Zambito." Berlusconi's list was defeated by Romano Prodi's coalition, known as The Union.
Zambito subsequently broke with Berlusconi's party and sought election to the Italian Chamber of Deputies in the 2013 Italian general election as a candidate of Mario Monti's With Monti for Italy coalition. Although Monti's list received enough votes for one regional seat, Zambito did not place first in the list's candidate preference votes and was once again not elected.

## Electoral record
### Montreal municipal

vte2009 Montreal municipal election: Councillor, Saint-Léonard-Est division :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Union Montreal | Union Montreal | Robert Zambito | 4,928 | 63.51 |
| Vision Montreal | Vision Montreal | Raphaël Fortin | 1,135 | 14.63 |
| Projet Montréal | Projet Montréal | Franco Fiori | 947 | 12.21 |
| Action civique Montréal | Action civique Montréal | Louise Blackburn | 749 | 9.65 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 7,759 | |
| Source: Election results, 2009, City of Montreal. |||||
vte2005 Montreal municipal election: Saint-Leonard borough Councillor, Saint-Léonard-Est division :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Montreal Island Citizens Union | Montreal Island Citizens Union | (x)Robert Zambito | 4,762 | 64.82 |
| Vision Montreal | Vision Montreal | Jean-Marc Boivin | 1,478 | 20.12 |
| Independent | Independent | Domenico Moschella | 1,107 | 15.07 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 7,347 | 100 |
| Source: City of Montreal official results (in French), City of Montreal. |||||
vte2001 Montreal municipal election: Saint-Leonard borough Councillor, Grande-Prairie division :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Montreal Island Citizens Union | Montreal Island Citizens Union | Robert Zambito | 10,034 | 73.03 |
| Vision Montreal | Vision Montreal | Lino Colapelle | 3,705 | 26.97 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 13,739 | 100 |
| Source: Election results, 1833-2005 (in French), City of Montreal. |||||
vte1998 Saint-Leonard municipal election: Councillor, Ward Ten :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Parti municipal | Parti municipal | (x)Robert Zambito | accl. |
| Source: Irwin Block, "Second acclamation in a row for Zampino," Montreal Gazette, 15 October 1998, A6. |||||
vte1994 Saint-Leonard municipal election: Councillor, Ward Twelve :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Parti municipal | Parti municipal | (x)Robert Zambito | 845 | 53.45 |
| Independent | Independent | Giacomo Vigna | 736 | 46.55 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 1,581 | 100 |
| Source: Mike King, "Voting results: the final count," Montreal Gazette, 8 November 1994, A4. |||||
vte1990 Saint-Leonard municipal election: Councillor, Ward Twelve :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Parti municipal | Parti municipal | (x)Robert Zambito | elected |
| Source: Irwin Block, "St. Leonard votes for change as Cote St. Luc re-elects Lang," Montreal Gazette, 5 November 1990, A5. |||||
vte1986 Saint-Leonard municipal election: Councillor, Ward Twelve :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Ralliement de Saint-Léonard | Ralliement de Saint-Léonard | Robert Zambito | 787 | 39.95 |
| Unité de Saint-Léonard | Unité de Saint-Léonard | (x)Domenico Moschella | 753 | 38.22 |
| Équipe démocratique de Saint-Léonard | Équipe démocratique de Saint-Léonard | Jacques Amyot | 216 | 10.96 |
| Rassemblement des citoyens et citoyennes de Saint-Léonard | Rassemblement des citoyens et citoyennes de Saint-Léonard | Michelango Cannistraro | 214 | 10.86 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 1,970 | 100 |
| Source: "Results of council elections in 18 Montreal-area municipalities," Montreal Gazette, 3 November 1986, A8. |||||

### Quebec provincial

vte1985 Quebec general election: Dorion :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal | Violette Trépanier | 12,724 | 51.71 |
| | Parti Québécois | Huguette Lachapelle | 10,226 | 41.56 |
| | New Democratic | Paul Comtois | 653 | 2.65 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Robert Zambito | 290 | 1.18 |
| | Parti indépendantiste | Normand Lacasse | 268 | 1.09 |
| | Humanist | Alain Despaties | 155 | 0.63 |
| | Communist | Line Chabot | 76 | 0.31 |
| | United Social Credit | Réal Bastien | 66 | 0.27 |
| | Commonwealth of Canada | M. Luisa Grau | 56 | 0.23 |
| | Christian Socialist | André St-Arnaud | 55 | 0.22 |
| | N/A (Workers) | Mario Caluori | 36 | 0.15 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 24,605 |
| Rejected and declined votes | Rejected and declined votes | Rejected and declined votes | 453 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 25,058 | 74.58 |
| Electors on the lists | Electors on the lists | Electors on the lists | 33,601 |
| Source: Official Results, Le Directeur général des élections du Québec. |||||||

### Italian

| Party | Party | Votes | % | Senators |
| | The Union | 32,036 | 38.03 | 1 |
| | Forza Italia | 25,556 | 30.33 | |
| | For Italy in the World with Tremaglia | 11,604 | 13.77 | |
| | Union of Christian and Centre Democrats | 9,412 | 11.17 | |
| | Independent Alternative for Italians Abroad | 3,191 | 3.79 | |
| | Northern League | 1,389 | 1.65 | |
| | Tricolour Flame | 1,061 | 1.26 | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 84,249 | 100.00 | |
The Union candidate preference votes :
| Renato Turano (elected) | 12,097 |
| Rocco di Trolio | 7,675 |
Forza Italia candidate preference votes :
| Augusto Sorriso | 8,898 |
| Liborio Zambito | 5,387 |
For Italy in the World with Tremaglia candidate preference votes :
| Carlo Consiglio | 5,446 |
| Vincenzo Centofanti | 2,531 |
Union of Christian and Centre Democrats candidate preference votes :
| Vittorio Coco | 3,906 |
| Bernardo Paradiso | 2,885 |
Independent Alternative for Italians Abroad candidate preference votes :
| Domenico Serafini detto Dom | 1,471 |
| Sonia Marcella Spadoni | 922 |
Northern League candidate preference votes :
| Salvatore Rappa | 807 |
Tricolour Flame candidate preference votes :
| Alfredo Viti | 415 |
Source: ARCHIVIO STORICO DELLE ELEZIONI - Consultazione dati: Senato 09/04/2006, Area ESTERO, Ripartizione AMERICA SETTENTRIONALE E CENTRALE, Ministerio dell'Interno, Government of Italy, accessed 27 July 2011. Voters were not required to give a preference vote for any candidate.