Pile on! 5 candidates already in Ward 3 race

Councillor Ann Iwanchuk's impending exit from the Ward 3 stage has led to an already crowded field of candidates seeking to take over her council seat in November's municipal election.

Iwanchuk announced she would not seek reelection on June 29. Hours later, Chris Sicotte tweeted his plan to run.

Since then, at least four other people have also set their sights on Ward 3, making for a total of five candidates more than a month before the slate becomes final. Only the field of 2020 mayoral hopefuls is as stacked so far. 

Here's who else is running in Ward 3 beside Sicotte. 

Janine Lazaro 

Janine Lazaro, a front-line worker with the Saskatchewan Health Authority, said it's scary working during a pandemic but also good training and fulfilling to help people in need. 

"I'm always ready to respond effectively in a time of crisis," she said.

Lazaro announced her candidacy on Facebook on August 10.

"I love Saskatoon and I do believe that running for council is not like a one-night stand relationship between a candidate and the community. For me it's a long-term relationship that builds through strong understanding and communication."

Lazaro said it's important for Saskatoon jobs to stay local. 

"There's a lot of people who lost their jobs," she said, citing the pandemic. "That's something that we need to focus on."

Lazaro said she supports the coming launch of the safe consumption site one ward over in Ward 2's Pleasant Hill neighbourhood, and said the Saskatchewan government should have provided the operational funding sought by AIDS Saskatoon.

"If the province provincial government really cares about the people of Saskatoon and the entire province of Saskatchewan, then yes, I do believe that they should give enough and sufficient funding," she said.

Nick Sackville

Nick Sackville, the government relations and member engagement manager for the Saskatoon and Region Home Builders' Association, also announced his candidacy last week.

"I've seen some opportunities for improvement for sure but I've always been passionate about politics so I wanted to give this a shot," he said. 

Sackville said the city needs to improve its community consultation process, pointing to the Circle Drive West functional study as an example of a missed opportunity.

"It was a consulting firm out of Edmonton that handled the study," Sackville said. "People felt that that didn't really qualify them because they didn't think they knew a lot about Saskatoon and what makes our city unique."

Sackville also said the city needs to do a better job of listening to the business community, citing the rezoning process as "difficult and it's onerous."

Crime and safety is also top-of-mind, Sackville said. Defunding the police is not the answer, he said. Ward 3 could use more recreational facilities to make the area more welcoming, he added. 

Mark Mills 

Mark Mills, the owner of a landscaping business, ran unsuccessfully as the lone challenger against Iwanchuk in 2016. 

"I believe that I can help guide us to a leaner, cleaner council," Mills said. "I've seen things I do not like. I was not in favour of the money that we put into the new arts centre, Remai Modern Art Museum. We received a lot of donations to build that. But the city still put in millions and millions."

Mills is also skeptical of the new downtown library, and said he'd rather see a new downtown arena built. (Both projects are being planned concurrently, the first by the Saskatoon Public Library, the second by the city.) He also supports the planned bus-rapid-transit project. 

Mills said his age, relative to other candidates, will be an asset.

"I'd like to say I'm one of the older candidates that's going to be running in the Ward 3 and I believe that with age comes knowledge," he said. 

Devyn Gregoire

At the other end of the age spectrum is Devyn Gregoire, who is in his early 20s.

Gregoire, who has worked as a reporter at CJWW, could not be reached for comment Monday.

On his Twitter feed, Gregoire has advocated for the city to create a reserve for pandemics, while speaking against the idea of mandatory masks in public spaces.

"I've heard from too many people in my area that they're not comfortable wearing one all the time. I have no problem with stores implementing their own policy," he wrote.

"Also we don't have mad case action like they do in the United States," he added. 

Gregoire has also commented on the Saskatoon mayoral race. 

"Candidate Cary Tarasoff dissed Mayor Clark for wearing a mask with his campaign logo on it. Last time I checked, you always got to be promoting!"