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Don Atchison is seeking — for the second time — a return to the Saskatoon mayor’s chair he occupied for longer than anyone in the city’s history.
Atchison has announced his entry into the mayoral race alongside current Ward 6 Coun. Cynthia Block, former city councillor and provincial cabinet member Gord Wyant and 2020 mayoral contender Cary Tarasoff.
Now 72 years old, Atchison was first elected mayor in 2003, winning a tight four-way race over Peter Zakreski, Jim Pankiw and incumbent mayor Jim Maddin. He was re-elected in 2006, 2009 and 2012, and in 2015 surpassed Cliff Wright and Henry Dayday as the longest-serving mayor in Saskatoon’s history.
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Atchison, Wright and Dayday were all elected to four terms as mayor, but Atchison claimed the record because terms were extended from three years to four in 2012.
Prior to holding the title of mayor, Atchison served as a city councillor from 1994 to 2003.
In 2016, he received 29,518 votes, but was shuffled out of office in a close race against then-city councillor Charlie Clark, who received 32,565.
In 2020, Atchison again entered the mayoral race but to dwindling results. Clark received 27,377 votes in his reelection bid, more than the combined total of second-place Rob Norris (15,261) and Atchison (11,722).
Clark announced earlier this year that he will not seek re-election when voters head to the polls on Nov. 13.
In recent years, Atchison has appeared at city council on a handful of occasions during hot-topic discussions.
Last summer, he addressed city councillors in a special committee meeting to address budget shortfalls anticipated in 2024 and 2025.
He was among the people at the meeting calling for a pause on major capital projects, including a proposed downtown arena and convention centre. Atchison suggested council also look at blocking the upcoming new Saskatoon Public Library (SPL) central branch building by denying any requests for more funds if the project is over budget.
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Several councillors questioned Atchison’s view of council’s authority over the SPL board, which is governed by separate provincial legislation.
In June, Atchison was among dozens of speakers at a public hearing on changes that would allow denser housing in established neighbourhoods.
Addressing the meeting, he called changes to comply with the federal Housing Accelerator Fund “a deal with the devil,” while suggesting the city would have to eventually impose costs on residents to pay for infrastructure upgrades such as sewer and waterlines.
HAF is a funding agreement between the federal government and municipalities to speed up housing development and increase supply. Saskatoon is set to receive approximately $41 million in funding through HAF.
While recently touting financial restraint, Atchison as mayor saw the city’s operating budget more than double, from $183 million in 2003 to more than $450 million before he was voted out. Saskatoon’s population during that time grew by about 25 per cent.
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