Regina's Sandra Masters becomes first woman voted to mayor's office in major Sask. city
Masters defeated incumbent Michael Fougere who served 2 terms
Regina voters have elected Sandra Masters as the city's next mayor, defeating incumbent Michael Fougere.
In a speech at her headquarters late Monday, Masters said Fougere had congratulated her in a phone call and wished her luck.
Masters also beat out Jerry Flegel, Tony Fiacco, Bob Pearce, Mitchell Howse, Jim Elliot, Darren Bradley and George Woolridge.
Masters was the only woman of the nine mayoral candidates. She becomes the first woman elected mayor in either of Saskatchewan's two major cities.
Elections Regina's website showed Masters having 19,015 votes to Fougere's 14,649 at the end of the evening.
"It doesn't occur to my sons that a woman wouldn't be a leader," Masters said on Monday night.
"It doesn't occur to my daughter that this isn't exactly where I should be at this point in time. But the feedback that I get from other parents is one of deep appreciation for the representation."
Masters, who has lived in Regina since 1999, resigned from the board of the Regina Exhibition Association Limited (REAL), the not-for-profit corporation that operates Evraz Place, to run for mayor. She served three terms with the board.
On Monday night she thanked Fougere for his years in public service and outgoing councillors for their dedication and work in the community.
She said she got the sense on the campaign trail that people in Regina were ready for a change.
"I think that's a natural thing, I just think after a period of time of having similar leadership, that people just want something different," she said.
Masters lays out plans moving forward
On the campaign trail, Masters said she would complete an efficiency review of the city's administration to see where improvements could be made.
She committed to that again Monday night and said she would inform the public before any changes were made formally.
"I made a commitment to talk to the public through various means and I am a believer in public engagement," she said.
Masters she would also like to introduce a poverty reduction strategy and examine a multi-year budgeting strategy.
She said she looks forward to meeting her fellow council members and acknowledged that their priorities might bump some of her ideas further down the line.
Newcomers in 4 wards
Two wards will be represented by new faces, as former Ward 8 councillor Mike O'Donnell announced he'd be retiring earlier this year and Ward 10 was represented by Flegel, who was defeated in the mayoral race.
Reid Hill, Carl Humphreys, Wesley Stryletski, Alex Tkach and Shanon Zachidniak ran in Ward 8.
Elections Regina results showed Zachidniak winning with 1,246 votes. Tkach followed with 852 votes.
Meanwhile, Adam Anderson, Patrick Denis, Carmen Hiebert, Laura Luby, Landon Mohl, Charles Olsen, Shea Paisley and Mark Shmelinski battled to replace Flegel in Ward 10. Mohl won with 904 votes.
Ward 1 incumbent Barbra Young was in a tight race with contestant Cheryl Stadinchuk. Elections Regina results showed Stadinchuk won with 52.51 per cent of the vote.
Terina Shaw's 993 votes beat out Ward 7 incumbent Sharron Bryce. Bryce and Shaw were up against Shobna Radons, Mike Parisone and John Gross.
In Ward 6, Dan LeBlanc won with 859 votes. He was up against incumbent Joel Murray, who earned 732 votes. The Ward was also contested by Sohel Sheik, Shontell Hillcoff, Rod Kletchko and Norman Hoffert.
5 to return
Incumbents Bob Hawkins and Andrew Stevens won Wards 2 and 3, respectively.
Ward 4 Coun. Lori Bresciani was acclaimed before Monday's vote.
John Findura and Jason Mancinelli also won in Wards 5 and 9, respectively.
