REGINA – The municipal election race in Regina is starting to take shape as more candidates start to launch their campaigns.
So far candidates have announced for the mayor’s race and throughout the city’s ten wards, and what we do know so far is there will be a significant turnover in the council ranks.
So far, Ward 3 councillor Andrew Stevens, Ward 1 councillor Cheryl Stadnichuk and Ward 6 councillor Dan LeBlanc have said they will not be seeking re-election.
Three other sitting councillors —Ward Two’s Bob Hawkins, Ward Seven’s Terina Nelson and Ward Eight’s Shanon Zachidniak — have confirmed they are seeking re-election.
Four other incumbents have not declared their intentions yet: Ward Four’s Lori Bresciani, Ward Five’s John Findura, Ward Nine’s Jason Mancinelli and Ward Ten’s Landon Mohl. In Bresciani’s case there has been some speculation that she could run for mayor, but at this point her election plans for the fall are not confirmed.
As for the mayor’s race, Mayor Sandra Masters declared her intentions to run again back in March at the State of the City address.
So far there are three candidates who have declared to run against her: Brandon Abtosway, Kevin Kardash and Shawn Sparvier. All three have either campaign websites or social media pages up, but none have been on council previously.
As for declared candidates in the council races so far:
Ward One sees Joanne Crofford and Jessie Morris running in the race to replace Cheryl Stadnichuk;
Ward Two sees at least three challengers to Hawkins so far in Chidi Igwe, Andre Magnan, and George Tsiklis;
David Froh is currently the only declared candidate seeking to fill the vacancy in Ward Three;
Ward Four declared candidates so far include Deb Nyczai, Kofo Oni and Charles Umeh;
Ward Five current declared candidates include Grant Jakubowski, Leticia Oystrick, and Sarah Turnbull;
Ward Six declared candidates include Victoria Flores and Corey Liebrecht;
In Ward Seven, Shobna Radons has declared her intentions to try and unseat incumbent Terina Nelson;
Incumbent Shanon Zachidniak currently has no declared candidates opposing her in Ward Eight;
In Ward Nine, there are three declared candidates in Reid Hill, Jeff Soroka and Tanis Wilder;
In Ward Ten declared candidates so far include Anita Adefuye, Clark Bezo and Chris Simmie. Tara Jijian, who had announced previously, has since withdrawn.
At this point, no one is officially on the ballot, as there is still considerable time before the official nomination period begins.
According to the city the nomination period is Sept. 25 through Oct. 9, with a filing deadline of 4 p.m. on Nomination Day, Wednesday Oct. 9. Nominated candidates have until 4 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 10 to withdraw their names from the ballot.
Prior to the nomination period, the city will hosting a Candidate Information Night on Sept. 19 at 5:30 p.m. with the call for nominations to be posted on Sept. 21.
November 13 is election day for mayor and council races in Regina; it is also election day for the school board for both the public and Catholic school divisions.
Check the city’s website at https://www.regina.ca/elections/info-for-candidates/ for details about the election as well as important information on ward boundaries, as the boundaries have changed since the last municipal election in 2020.
