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It was early in Marc Miller’s run for office when he got the fateful call.

Joe Mell had heard he’d be on the ticket for the Liberals and decided to offer Miller some advice. Even in his mid-80s, Mell was the man to see about winning Irish votes in the working-class neighbourhood of Point-St-Charles.

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So Miller agreed to meet with the unofficial mayor of The Point at a senior’s residence south of downtown.

“He said, ‘I know the guy who’ll put up your election signs in Point-St-Charles,’ ” said Miller, recounting the 2014 meeting. ” ‘He’s the same guy who’ll take them down if I say so.’ It was a joke, but that’s sort of how things were run back in the day.

“If you were running in The Point, you’d be wise to seek Joe Mell’s advice. He fought for the little guy and people loved him for that.”

Miller will be at St. Gabriel’s Parish Thursday when the community gathers to pay their last respects to Mell — who died last week at the age of 86.