Regina South: Heather McIntyre to Seek NDP Nomination

With a competitive nomination race developing in Regina Coronation Park, it's fairly clear that the Saskatchewan NDP is on strong ground in replacing its retiring MLAs. But with the party obviously needing to win additional seats in order to form government in 2011, the next question is whether it might face any more difficulty recruiting strong challengers in seats now held by the Sask Party.

Fortunately, there's some great news on that front. After running a strong City Council campaign last year in Ward 2, Heather McIntyre is now aiming for the NDP's nomination in Regina South, making a direct personal appeal about the harm done by the Wall government:

My grandmother lives in a Regina South nursing home with staff the government refuses to treat with respect. My daughter’s school may lose its teaching assistants and the value they bring to countless families. And soon my neighbours will be paying higher power bills. Everyone in Saskatchewan is being forced to pay for the Wall government’s mismanagement.

With the 2009 City Council race giving her both plenty of recent campaign experience and a head start in parts of the constituency, McIntyre should be a formidable candidate for the nomination. But there's also talk that she may not be alone in pursuing a seat which saw one of the NDP's two narrow losses in Regina in 2007.

Municipal Election Breakdown - Regina Ward 2

As I've mentioned before, Ward 2 is the one municipal campaign where I've been directly involved this year, so my endorsement shouldn't come as much surprise. That said, it's still worth taking a look at what we can expect come tomorrow night in a ward which was home to one of the closer races in 2006.

Jocelyn Hutchinson - video profile - website

While Hutchinson largely sticks to the "more of the same" party line, she's also more explicit than any of the other council candidates in pushing for ever more and bigger development, seeing the city as taking the "lead role" in MEGAPROJECTS!!! like the transport hub.

In fairness, that's balanced somewhat by at least some acknowledgment that the city also needs to invest in culture and community organizations. But if there was any doubt where Hutchinson's priorities lie, it should be put to rest when one notes that her 2006 promise of a better recycling program seems to have been dropped from her platform this time around. But then I suppose it's tough to juggle even a single new idea along with a deep philosophical position like "lives in the ward".

Heather McIntyre - video profile - website

Needless to say, Hutchinson's abandonment of green issues makes for a stark contrast compared to McIntyre, whose platform includes both a curbside recycling program in particular, and a more general commitment to sustainable development among other policy priorities.

As for most of the challengers, the main question for McIntyre is whether she's been able to get her message out to enough people to overcome the name recognition advantage of the incumbent. All indications that I've seen look promising - but we'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out for sure.

Endorsement

Strong progressive challenger + weak conservative incumbent = easy decision. The endorsement goes to Heather McIntyre.

Breaking the silence

The Leader-Post reports on how quiet the Regina municipal elections have been to date. And it's all too true that there's been somewhat less talk about the election than one would hope for so far.

But for those looking for some of the discussion which hasn't yet been processed for media consumption, the City has posted video statements from a large number of candidates - and some are going beyond that in bringing their ideas to voters.

On big projects

I'll have plenty more to say about the Regina municipal races over the next little while. But for now, I'll take a moment to mention my stake in one of the campaigns, as I'll be contributing some content to the web presence for Heather McIntyre's campaign in Ward 2.

But of course I'll also continue to put together content which is purely mine rather than having anything to do with the campaign - such as this first response to the "The ONLY" theme which McIntyre's opponent Jocelyn Hutchinson is pushing:


Needless to say, suggestions working off the theme are more than welcome.

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.)