Incumbent mayors defeated in Prince Albert, Moose Jaw, Weyburn
Pratyush Dayal | CBC News | Posted: November 14, 2024 4:06 AM | Last Updated: November 14
Estimated 529 of the province's 765 municipalities voted on Nov. 13
It's municipal election day in Saskatchewan and some cities have seen incumbents defeated.
An estimated 529 of the province's 765 municipalities voted Wednesday to elect one or all council positions.
Here are some of the results from outside Regina and Saskatoon:
Prince Albert
Bill Powalinsky defeated incumbent Greg Dionne and Brittany Marie Smith. Dionne was first elected in 2012. Powalinsky told CBC News he was humbled by the "surreal" victory.
"People want to see very concrete action when it comes to crime and move ahead when we're talking about working with projects for the homeless," he said.
"Every election is about change. In this case, [voters] were looking for change and balancing social and economic development."
Powalinsky said his "immediate priority" is to look at the city's human and financial resources, and to start tackling the issues of crime and homelessness.
"We'll certainly be moving ahead and trying to get this homeless shelter issue resolved."
Weyburn
Jeff Richards defeated two other candidates, including incumbent Marcel Roy, who had been mayor for the past two terms. Richards previously served on city council.
"The election is over. That was the easy part. The work starts now and we are prepared to work. We've got infrastructure work that needs to be prioritized. We've got leadership work that needs to be done," Richards said.
"Nobody gets to hold the government seat forever. Marcel has been the mayor for eight years and I've served with him and sometimes the electorate just wants change and that happened. I have a slightly different leadership style than Marcel."
Richards said the city budget is one of his main priorities.
Moose Jaw
James Murdock will become the new mayor of Moose Jaw, defeating incumbent Clive Tolley and three other candidates.
North Battleford
Kelli Hawtin has defeated Wayne (Semaganis) Baptiste and Terence (Terry) Caldwell in the mayoral race.
Yorkton
Aaron Kienle defeated incumbent Mitch Hippsley, who was elected as mayor in 2020 and served as a councillor in the previous term. Kienle is a business owner in the community.
Swift Current
Al Bridal will be serving a second term as mayor by acclamation.
La Ronge
Incumbent Joe Hordyski was acclaimed for another term as mayor.
All four councillors in that community have also been acclaimed.
Estevan
Anthony Sernick will be the mayor after defeating two other candidates.
Estevan's longtime mayor Roy Ludwig, who served a combined nine terms as councillor and mayor, did not seek re-election.
Warman
Incumbent Gary Philipchuk will serve another term by acclamation.
Rosthern
Dennis Helmuth was acclaimed as mayor.
Osler
Incumbent Abe Quiring was acclaimed.
Hague
Incumbent Patricia Wagner was acclaimed.
Dalmeny
Jon Kroeker was acclaimed mayor of Dalmeny.