Don Atchison hopes to sit in the mayors chair once again

There isn’t a more experienced candidate running for mayor of Saskatoon than Don Atchison.

Atchison is making a run again after a 13-year stint from 2003 to 2016.

That stretch made Atchison Saskatoon’s longest-serving mayor. He also served as a city councillor from 1994 to 2003 in Ward 10.

After four years in the private sector, Atchison says he still has a burning desire to serve his community.

“There’s just still lots to do. I’ve got this love and this passion for the community.”

“We’re going through a pandemic right now. I think we need someone with leadership abilities and qualities that I have certainly proven I have.”

Atchison is using his track record to appeal to voters.

He points to the federal funding he helped secure for three new bridges in the city.

His administration also oversaw the completion of Circle Drive, the development of River Landing, and renovations to Nutrien Playland at Kinsmen Park.

According to Atchison the Circle Drive South Bridge almost didn’t happen when his office received a call from Ottawa that the “project was dead.”  A phone call he had with then Minister Carol Skelton got the project back on track.

“We were very fortunate,” said Atchison. “The dollars that we received for the Circle Drive South Bridge, those dollars had been destined for Quebec and they came to Saskatoon.”

He says it’s one example of why he is the strongest candidate to lead the city for the next four years.

“What are other people bringing forward as their vision? What can they point back to for their completions other than cutting the ribbons on projects we started?”

Background

Born in Saskatoon, Atchison and his wife Mardele have five children and 13 grandchildren.

Before life in politics and the men’s clothing business, Atchison was a hockey player. He played goaltender for the Saskatoon Blades for one season which launched a brief pro career in the United States.

A draft pick of the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins, he spent three seasons in the minors before retiring the pads. In his final season with the Johnstown Jets, he almost launched an acting career when he was asked to be in the 70s hockey classic “Slap Shot.”

“I turned that opportunity down. Unbeknownst to me that I thought they were just joking, but in fact it was real.”

Platform

One of the key planks of Atchison’s platform is making life more affordable for citizens by promising a zero per cent tax increase in 2021.

“Businesses are struggling to try to pay their taxes and make their financial commitments. Families are trying to do that same thing. The city of Saskatoon has to make hard and difficult decisions just like businesses do and just as residents do with their families at this point in time.”

To find savings, Atchison would eliminate the bike lane project on Third Avenue and defer the contribution to Landfill Reserve for one year.

He would also pause Bus Rapid Transit, expressing concern with the final cost of the project.

Atchison’s plan for job growth is focused on making Saskatoon recognized as an international business-friendly destination, and he thinks a downtown arena district would go a long way to accomplish that.

Standing in Atchison’s way of a fifth term are Charlie Clark, Rob Norris, Zubair Sheikh, Cary Tarasoff and Mark Zielke.

Saskatoon residents will choose their new mayor on November 9th.