What's next for Saskatoon's new city council and mayor
CBC
Bev Dubois is the longest-serving member among Saskatoon's newly elected city council.
Dubois's 17 non-consecutive years as councillor have taught her things she wants to share with the six new faces just elected to city council.
"You have to strategize and prioritize," Dubois said in an interview Thursday.
"You have to look after yourself and try not to do everything at once. We get a lot of invitations to things to attend, and I've seen councillors come on and they go to every single thing for the first like three to six months, and then they just get worn right out and can't do it anymore."
On Thursday, the city's returning official certified the results of the 2024 civic election. Voter turnout hit 35.04 per cent, up from 27.41 per cent in 2020, but still below the 2016 turnout of 40.09 per cent.
Six new faces are joining four incumbents on city council in addition to mayor-elect Cynthia Block, the first ever woman to hold the top job at city hall.
Ward 2 voters chose Senos Timon, who becomes the first Black person to sit on Saskatoon city council.
"Saskatoon … has become a more multicultural and diverse city and having representation at our local government that reflect who we are, reflects our community, means a lot," Timon told CBC's Saskatoon Morning on Thursday.
"It means a lot to the people of colour, the Black community and a lot of those who wanted to see them represented, who wanted to see them belong in our local government."
You can see the list of winning candidates for council and both school boards here.
The long, irregular hours of a city councillor can put stress on the mind, body and relationships, but Dubois said that can be minimized with enough sleep, a healthy diet and exercise.
What about political advice? Dubois said it comes down to professionalism: you fight it out during votes but leave the bad blood in council chambers.
"Not everybody is going to agree on every vote, but don't hold on to that. Let it go after the vote," Dubois said. "In the last term there were a lot of 6-5 votes, but we all still got along."
The new council will jump into the annual budget debate in a matter of weeks. Dubois said the new councillors shouldn't stress too much, because the city's new multi-year budgeting strategy means the new council won't have to start from scratch.
Saskatoon city hall says police spending is projected to be $2.6 million over budget this year. That pushes the city into a $1.2-million deficit position, according to a report that will be considered by city council next week.
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