In June 2021, a house on Clarence Avenue exploded. It turned out to be a terrible personal tragedy as opposed to an infrastructure failure, but I didn’t know that yet when I drove over there to check it out the next morning. I had wondered about the cause (failed gas line? Inspection issue? Shifting ground? What?) because I sometimes write about real estate. What an unbelievable and quite terrifying mess. Even from my vantage point half a block away, distance necessary because the entire area was roped off and full of emergency vehicles and staff, I could see the house had been levelled and pieces of its roof lay on other people’s homes. Later, I managed to wiggle down the alley and found other journalists and photographers doing the same thing. Everyone was rather gobsmacked. While I was waiting to cross Clarence in my car, window slightly open because it was a fine day, I saw Mayor Charlie Clark striding down the street toward the disaster zone. Somehow, he saw me and stopped for a second, ducked his head (he’s pretty tall) and said, “Hi, Joanne.” “Good morning,” I responded, along with a mayoral honorific like Your Worship, and babbled something likely banal about how terrible this explosion was. He agreed and went on to survey the damage.

So I have met Clark maybe . . . three times? Face to face? And I’ll grant you my face has appeared with columns over the years, but not exactly in huge super-recognizable format. But a mayor meets thousands of people and he recognized my dishevelled self through (most of) the car window on a very, very bad day. And stopped to say hello. And went on to see this destruction in person. Is that what mayors do? I would like to think so, but I really have no idea, to be honest. This one did; and having peeked at the media coverage of the explosion, he did not get more than a wee mention. This was not an “I’m here to get votes” kind of event. This was clearly an “I’m checking on a scary thing that happened in my community” event. And now, Clark has said he will not run again, which leaves us with the question of who will be our new mayor. Will that mayor show up at local disasters? Recognize people they’ve met a couple of times through a window even if they haven’t washed their hair yet?

Clark took the mayoralty with 27,377 votes in 2020, more than second place candidate Rob Norris (15,261) and third placer Don Atchison (11,722) combined. There were three others on the ballot: Cary Tarasoff, Zubair Sheikh and Mark Zielke, vote placement in that order. Of these, so far, Atchison has not ruled out another run and Zielke has said he’s going for it. CBC reported that councillors Troy Davies (Ward 4) and Randy Donauer (Ward 5) were “firm” that they will run again for council, not mayor. Hilary Gough (Ward 2), Mairin Loewen (Ward 7) and Sarina Gersher (Ward 8) said they are not planning a go at the mayor’s job, while David Kirton (Ward 3) and Cynthia Block (Ward 6) have, in short, not decided. Block allowed that she has been exhorted to run by constituents. Meanwhile, it was interesting timing to see Gordon Wyant, MLA for Saskatoon Northwest and the province’s advanced education minister, announce — shortly after Clark’s announcement —that he would not be running in the next provincial election. (Granted, three other ministers — Dustin Duncan, Donna Harpauer and Don McMorris — said they weren’t running either, but still. That four-person event may be worth a separate look-see.) Wyant has not yet said whether he will throw his hat in, but he has said he thinks he has what it takes to lead Saskatoon as mayor and that it’s time for new leadership. Read into that what you will.

Not saying I know anything more, but I am going to stick my neck out and say we will see Wyant, Block, Atchison, Zielke (obviously) and likely at least one other councillor on the ballot. And probably others. No word from Norris yet. As of my deadline. Guaranteed our tax hikes of late — six per cent this year — will be a campaign point, and potentially ‘the’ voting issue. Clark and council have been roundly criticized for increasing taxes, even though they are in line with other western cities (not including Regina, which brought in 2.2 per cent.) But beware of candidates promising low-to-no tax hikes. The highest increase in recent memory came in 2014, before Clark was first elected mayor in 2016 (although he was on council), at 7.43 per cent. Atchison campaigned on tax promises and that didn’t happen either. Indeed, I cannot remember a year ever when taxes did not rise, and usually well above the rate of inflation.

We’re also in a post-COVID inflationary environment, facing enormous problems not just with interest rates but also with homelessness, addiction and crime. Where would one like to cut back? Policing? I would prefer a mayor (and council) who do not promise the earth, keep a close eye on and manage the city’s major issues, try to balance expenditures and revenues, and show up whenever necessary . . . and even, maybe, without fanfare, not 100 per cent necessary.

-Joanne Paulson