Regina Mayor Sandra Masters has announced she will run for re-election in November as she seeks to renew the city's aging facilities.“I believe that we’ve got a lot of work to do and we’ve got a really incredible opportunity as a city for growth, for investments, for the kind of life we all want for our grandkids,” she told an audience at her annual state-of-the-city address Thursday.Earlier in the day, the city, province and federal government announced a $128.1 million geothermal-powered facility would replace the Lawson Aquatic Centre. The project was one of Masters' campaign priorities in the 2020 election.Other capital investments over the past year include the North Central Family Centre’s rapid housing projects, the North Central revitalization project, the YWCA’s new women’s centre, the Globe Theatre’s renovations, and provincial funding for shelter beds and addictions spaces.Masters defeated three-term incumbent Michael Fougere to become the city's 35th mayor in 2020. This was Masters' first run at municipal politics, in contrast to Fougere who had previously represented Ward 4 for many terms. Masters received 19,015 of the votes for 46.4% of the total, besting Fougere who received 14,649 in the nine-person race.Regina's first-ever female mayor had spent the previous six years on the board of Regina Exhibition Association Limited (REAL).“When I ran for mayor last time, I had some ideas of things and I was probably a little naive about how long things take and foundational pieces," Masters said.“This is the coolest thing I have ever done in my life. The opportunity and the privilege of being the mayor of Regina, I could not have dreamt. It’s also the most unbelievably frustrating thing I’ve ever done in my life," she said.Masters said her campaign for re-election will focus on municipal investment, long-term financial modelling and transparency and citizens’ safety, affordability and inclusiveness as priorities.“That’s where a lot of money is going. But we can’t be a black hole of money where we’re not going to be fully accountable and transparent on how we’re spending it," Masters said.“I want it so my grandkids can see themselves living here, having world class assets, having flights out of the airport, that living here is affordable."Masters says the city still has a "billion-infrastructure deficit." She wants to replace the main branch for the Regina Public Library, a replacement for the Brandt Centre that hosts hockey games and exhibitions and an expansion of the city's water and wastewater systems.Masters spent $25,699 on travel in 2022, more than double what any Regina mayor had spent in the previous decade. On March 6, the mayor was endorsed by city council on to travel to France to celebrate the 80th anniversary of D-Day. Mayors of the towns of Thue et Mue and Brettevillel-’Orgueilleuse extended the invitation to Masters and the Royal Regina Rifles to attend an event on June 7.Regina has faced some austerity in recent years. In 2021, the city deferred on a proposal for a new $22.5 million baseball stadium that would seat 3,500 people near the downtown railyards. The annual Regina Folk Festival was cancelled for 2024 due to financial problems, while the Regina Symphony Orchestra stayed afloat thanks to a $200,000 one-time emergency grant from the province.Masters is the first to announce her intention to run in the November 13 municipal election.
