A few municipal notes

For those looking for reason to be excited about the possibilities in this fall's municipal elections, look no further than Heather McIntyre's run to unseat Jocelyn Hutchinson in Regina's Ward 2 (first publicly announced on Kent Peterson's blog). McIntyre was one of the main forces behind the scenes of Yens Pedersen's remarkably successful leadership campaign, and her candidacy looks to be in great shape due to the enthusiasm that's built among Regina's NDP supporters since the leadership race ended.

For those looking out for an old favourite in a new role, longtime MLA Glenn Hagel has formally declared his intention to run for mayor of Moose Jaw. So far there are two other candidates in the race, but neither with much political profile that I'm aware of - making Hagel the early frontrunner.

And for those looking for a multi-candidate pileup, look no further than Regina's Ward 3, where Don Young's announcement that he'll once again join the perpetually-crowded race leaves him facing off against John Conway, Shirley Dixon and possibly incumbent Fred Clipsham (who still hasn't formally announced his intentions).

We'll find out before too long who will emerge from the pack to win the council seat this fall. But barring some unexpected influx of challengers elsewhere, there may be as many nominally left-wing candidates finishing as also-rans in Ward 3 as there are similarly progressive candidates mounting serious challenges in all of Regina's other wards combined. And I have to wonder if the city as a whole would be better served if the big names looked at using their greater visibility either to take aim at some of council's more reactionary members, or better yet to take on Pat Fiacco in the mayoral vote - rather than adding more names to the ballot in a ward whose representative is bound to be a comparatively progressive vote on council no matter who wins.

(Edit: fixed wording.)

On the municipal front...

There have been murmurings for quite some time that former NDP MLA Glenn Hagel was considering a run for mayor of Moose Jaw. But I hadn't realized that Hagel himself has publicly confirmed his interest in the position:

Today, the questions surrounding our next mayor are already being asked and we've been able to get in touch with the man that appears to be at the centre of most conversations. Former Moose Jaw North MLA Glenn Hagel.

"Its something that we're giving some thought to. I've had some encouragement and I'm definitely considering running for mayor. What I want to do is take the summer and talk to people about what they see the future of Moose Jaw being and also to decide if I can bring the kind of leadership that Moose Jaw wants."

Hagel served Moose Jaw in the legislature for 21 years before losing to the Saskatchewan Party's Warren Michelson in the last provincial election. Hagel says he plans to have a decision made by Labour Day.

Of course, anybody looking at the municipal political scene primarily as a jumping-off point for other levels of politics might prefer to see younger names in the mix. But there's also plenty of value in ensuring that our cities are run by solid and strong progressive voices - and there shouldn't be any lack of longtime NDP supporters eager to throw their support behind Hagel's run if he does enter the race.