Citizens organizing

Regina's recent strike may have been the most visible manifestation of the issues, but for years the city's been sorely in need of a strong movement to challenge the current leadership's no-tax-increases-and-damn-the-costs mentality. It's a long way from coming to fruition, but the seed has been planted:

Preliminary plans for the organization were being made several months ago before the recent strike of 1,600 city workers.

But the new organization (the Committee for a Citizen Friendly Regina) could potentially provide a political voice for people who are unhappy with city council's policies on a wide range of issues, including labour relations...

Issues related to urban sprawl, the development of sustainable neighbourhoods, racism, the environment and the need to maintain quality, publicly funded services are among the issues the organization could potentially address.

Sounds like a great slate of issues so far. The big key will be finding strong candidates to present a viable alternative in time for next year's election...which will be a matter of visibility in the short term. So to all fellow Reginans: get out the word, stop by the next founding meeting (October 19, 7 p.m. at the Holy Rosary Cathedral Hall at 2104 Garnet St.), and help build this into an organization capable of taking City Hall next year.