CLARK FACES TOUGH JOB

Council veteran Charlie Clark played the role of a giant killer Wednesday night by dashing 13-year incumbent Don Atchison’s hopes of achieving a record-setting fifth term as mayor.

However, Mr. Clark’s euphoria at defeating Saskatoon’s longest serving mayor could be short-lived, given the challenges that face the city over the next four years with the stalled, resource-driven provincial economy.

Without a doubt, it was Mr. Clark’s army of ground troops that made the difference by working hard throughout the day to get out the vote, with supporters in his core support areas such as Nutana, Holliston and City Park turning out in droves to secure the victory. A sizable portion of the youth vote also turned out at the polls, which hugely benefited Mr. Clark.

Mr. Atchison’s bid for a fifth multi-year term as mayor was dashed with Mr. Clark managing to draw away votes from contender Kelley Moore. Although Ms. Moore’s campaign got off to a strong start, her lack of political experience was a hurdle, particularly late in the campaign when issues such as an ill-considered endorsement by the transit union and musings about changes at city hall raised the hackles of organized labour.

While Mr. Atchison ran a disciplined campaign that focused on a few key issues, among them removing the bike lanes from Fourth Avenue and rail lines from the city, it was Mr. Clark’s steady message of co-operation, balanced growth and his achievements as a well-liked and effective councillor that carried the day with residents looking for a change of direction at city hall. He stressed the need to address the root causes of crime, and opposed the proposal by the business community for a cut in its tax rate, which both Mr. Atchison and Ms. Moore supported.

For the first time, women now constitute a majority of council, even though veteran Pat Lorje appeared to be going down to defeat at press time. For a city that was recently described by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives as one of Canada’s worst places to be a woman, based in part on the number of women in leadership positions, the re-election of Ann Iwanchuck and Mairin Loewen, joined by Sarina Gersher, Bev Dubois and Hilary Gough (at last count), is most welcome.

Although polls closed at 8 p.m., the long lineups at some polling stations caused a delay in counting the votes, unnecessarily dragging out the suspense of a tight election. It’s time that Saskatoon got into the modern age by compiling a voters’ list instead of requiring returning officers at the polls to fill out voter information by hand.