Norris checks a lot of boxes for Saskatoon

During the 1940s, Angus Macpherson performed a unique electoral feat in Saskatoon history by getting elected five straight times as mayor.

Granted, his electoral run from 1944 to 1948 happened when mayors faced election every year, but it has yet to be repeated, despite attempts by four-term mayors Don Atchison and Henry Dayday.

Macpherson holds another distinction as the only mayor of the City of Saskatoon who was elected without any previous city hall experience.

Ernie Cole, who was elected mayor in 1965, had worked as a city hall engineer before his successful mayoral run; James Clinkskill was first elected mayor when Saskatoon was still a town.

All the other men elected mayor of Saskatoon had served as an alderman or councillor first.

That would appear to put mayoral challenger Rob Norris at a disadvantage in his expected campaign next year.

But there has never been a mayoral candidate quite like Norris before. He checks a lot of the boxes for a credible campaign.

He has instant name recognition, which is regrettably the most important ingredient for a municipal election candidacy.

The former cabinet minister and two-term Saskatoon MLA in Brad Wall’s Saskatchewan Party government left provincial politics in 2016, a year before Wall departed.

He can claim a connection to the successful Wall years, which instilled a sense of pride in the province, while distancing himself from current Premier Scott Moe and any unpopular policies of his government.

Norris is regarded as significantly less conservative than the Sask. Party, having originally run unsuccessfully for a provincial seat with the Liberals in 2003.

He enthusiastically attends Pride parades and events, which has become a litmus test for politicians with a conservative bent.

Any challenger for the mayor’s seat — Mayor Charlie Clark has yet to indicate whether he will seek re-election in 2020 — will benefit from a variety of factors.

Clark will be identified with many of the controversial decisions made by the current council, from downtown bike lanes to backyard fire limits and changes to waste services.

The election follows a year in which a record number of homicides were recorded in Saskatoon and the Conference Board of Canada says the city’s economy was essentially stagnant. Concerns about safety and security make for a winning recipe for a challenge to an incumbent.

Norris’s nascent campaign so far resembles that of Atchison in 2003, when he rode a tough-on-crime message to a narrow victory in a four-way race.

Atchison defeated incumbent Jim Maddin, who, like Clark, was viewed as left leaning.

Norris seems intent on focusing on crime and safety and the economy. Accusing Clark and the rest of council of being soft on crime seems unfair, since council is adding 15 police officers over the next two years and has been proactive in addressing the root problems of poverty and addiction.

But, in an election, a simple slogan may say more than a track record, especially for a gut-instinct issue like safety.

So why has Norris declared his intention to run so early? One factor is to ensure the anticlark votes go to himself, rather than another candidate, like Atchison.

Another reality is the skyrocketing cost of Saskatoon mayoral campaigns and the limited amount of money available, especially since there will also be a provincial election campaign next fall.

Clark and Atchison raised more than $200,000 for the 2016 campaign and each spent nearly as much. In the 2009 election, Atchison spent just $34,000 on his successful campaign for a third term in office.

Norris has signalled he intends to run a rather unorthodox campaign. That could more than make up for his lack of experience at the municipal level.

There’s no rule against challenging Clark at his annual state of the city speech, but Norris certainly seemed to violate protocol when he did that earlier this year in front of a business-friendly crowd.

The last election featured an exciting race between Clark and Atchison with challenges by Dayday and political newcomer Kelley Moore mixed in.

Clark versus Norris looks to be a dandy, too.