“There’s just a lot of work to do, and we’re not quite done it yet.”
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Mayor Sandra Masters concluded her annual state-of-the-city address on Thursday with a casual quip that she will seek a second term as the city’s mayor come election time this fall.
“I still believe what I believed four years ago,” she said.
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“I believe that we’ve got a lot of work to do, and we’ve got a really incredible opportunity as a city for growth, for investments, for the kind of life we all want for our grandkids.
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“And I guess that means on Nov. 13, I believe I will be having a beer with some close friends waiting to see the results of the election.”
The revelation followed a question-and-answer style address with Phoenix Group president Pam Klein that unravelled like a victory lap after the last four years.
Her promise to seek a second term also came hours after she helped announce funding to the tune of $128.1 million for a new geothermal-powered facility to replace the Lawson Aquatic Centre had come through — a project Masters campaigned on in 2020.
The project came up in Thursday’s fireside chat address. So too did several other green-lit investments that have occurred under Masters’ leadership: the North Central Family Centre’s rapid housing projects, the YWCA’s new women’s centre, Globe Theatre’s renovations, and provincial funding for shelter beds and addictions spaces.
All in all, the dollar value of that laundry list of projects totals more than $250 million in capital investment for Regina.
“I want it so my grandkids can see themselves living here, having world class assets, having flights out of the airport, that living here is affordable,” Masters told the room.
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The recently begun North Central revitalization project featured next, an initiative Masters and Coun. Andrew Stevens (Ward 3) have spearheaded into action for this year.
“You have to put your policy where your principles are,” she said.
“I want to see what we can get accomplished in the next four years in that neighbourhood for those kids, those families, the folks that live there.”
Masters was first elected in 2020, ousting three-term incumbent Michael Fougere. It was her first foray into municipal politics.
“This is the coolest thing I have ever done in my life. The opportunity and the privilege of being the mayor of Regina, I could not have dreamt. It’s also the most unbelievably frustrating thing I’ve ever done in my life.”
What has been most challenging, she said, is the time it takes to see projects come to fruition, for changes that will impact city services to pass.
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“When I ran for mayor last time, I had some ideas of things, and I was probably a little naive about how long things take, and foundational pieces,” she said. “I think we can do better.”
Speaking Thursday, she said her 2024 campaign will continue to focus on municipal investment, long-term financial modelling and transparency, and citizens’ safety, affordability and inclusiveness as priorities.
“There’s a lot of things we do really well,” she said, going on to list water, sewer, garbage collection, transit services. “That’s all us,” she added.
“That’s where a lot of money is going. But we can’t be a black hole of money where we’re not going to be fully accountable and transparent on how we’re spending it.”
Masters also flagged the construction of a new main branch for the Regina Public Library, replacement the Brandt Centre and expansion of the city’s water and wastewater systems as projects on her radar.
She said the city has a “billion-dollar infrastructure deficit and so it’s about the ability to make strategic decisions about where to invest.”
“It’s about that continued investment, which gets us those incremental improvements from a city operational perspective,” she said.
“There’s just a lot of work to do, and we’re not quite done it yet.”
Regina’s municipal election is set for Nov. 13.
Masters is the first to formally declare candidacy for the mayoral race, and the first of any currently sitting city council members to announce they are seeking re-election.
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