Mayoral candidate reveals platform, promises to save on city operations

Regina mayoral candidate Sandra Masters unveiled her campaign platform, which covers four key areas: Improving city operations, community safety, jobs and creating fair opportunities.

“Regina is being out-invested and out-hustled in economic development. Our feeling of safety has diminished. We’re losing young people and our city is looking in need of care,” Masters said Thursday.

If elected, Masters plans to review city operations within the first six months of taking office and to find 15 per cent in efficiencies.

That money would be reinvested into city services.

“We know community organizations need investment. Arts and culture needs investment. Tourism needs investment. You may have to spend some money for initiatives as it relates to economic development,” Masters told reporters gathered in front of City Hall.

“Take a look around. There’s money needed for infrastructure. So it’s a matter of freeing up money that’s intended to invest in making our city vibrant and beautiful.”

When asked if that would result in cutting jobs at City Hall, Masters couldn’t say without a full understanding of where the money is going.

“Are we doing too many things? Are we attempting to do a little of everything and not enough of some things?” she said. “Are the best people with the best skills doing the right jobs?”

Her platform also calls for multi-year budgeting, a plan to fix a “billion-dollar infrastructure deficit” and eliminating the city’s 29 per cent intensification levy.

On community safety, Masters said she is not in favour of cutting the police budget, which some people have petitioned for in order to fund social services.

But she acknowledged police end up responding to matters outside their purview, like mental health calls.

Addressing root causes of crime requires fixing problems in health, social services and education, which are outside municipal jurisdiction.

Having already promised an anti-poverty strategy, she said partnerships are needed with other orders of government, police and community groups.

“But for us as a city to look at that and say, ‘Well. that’s not our jurisdiction,’ is irresponsible and it’s incredibly disrespectful to our citizens,” Masters said.

“The only way we’re going to get control of that police budget 10 years from now is to actually invest in those kids that are three and four years old right now.”

To help others share in economic opportunities, Masters also proposes a city procurement strategy to support local and Indigenous businesses.

She said money goes further with businesses with an Indigenous workforce of more than 40 per cent.

“A dollar profit to one organization might mean two or three times that to an Indigenous organization,” she said.

A complete list of candidates for the Nov. 9 municipal election can be found here.