Jerry Flegel announces mayoral candidacy

In front of the old railyard on Dewdney Avenue, Regina city councillor Jerry Flegel made it official: He will be a candidate for mayor this fall.

“This has been the secret that has not been a secret for a long time,” Flegel told the media Thursday morning during his announcement.

Flegel said he has been planning to run for mayor for a while. When COVID-19 hit, he was unsure whether to proceed, but ultimately decided to run.

“I’m putting my 14 years of good councilling reputation on the line. I need people to know that I’m out here for the long haul,” Flegel said.

The councilman will be running against current Regina Mayor Michael Fougere, who served five terms as a city councillor before being elected to lead the city in 2012.

Fougere has remained in his position for the past eight years.

“We’ve done a lot of good things over the years,” Flegel said, “but we know there’s a ton of work to do and we’ve fallen short on a lot of issues we need to deal with.”

If elected mayor, Flegel has identified a number of issues and ways he intends to deal with them.

Among his promises, Flegel said he intends to focus on relaunching Regina after COVID-19.

That includes assembling a committee to speak with Regina stakeholders, police and communities to help the city get back on its feet after the pandemic.

He also has big plans for the 17 1/2 acres of old railyard on Dewdney.

“We need a couple of years to build. That way we’ve got ball diamonds, we’ve got pickleball courts, we’ve got cultural centres (and) we’ve got farmers markets,” he said.

“(We can) bring something that brings people to the area, not wreck downtown.”

Flegel pledged to look into providing better housing for low-income residents.

“We have an opportunity to build a small community in North Central and put us back on the map in terms of finding housing for the people that need it the most,” he said.

He also intends to review the operations of the Regina Police Service to try and accommodate the needs of police and advocates for the Black Lives Matter movement.

“We’ve got to figure this all out,” Flegel said. “At the end of the day, we need to make a safe community and a community that everybody is welcome.”

Flegel acknowledged Thursday he has a long history of voting in favour of motions supported by Fougere, despite publicly criticizing most.

“I know that there’s a lot of people who are unhappy right now,” he said. “Yes, I was part of the problem, if you want to call it that.”

Flegel said now he wants to make a change.

“In the political world, they say, ‘Everybody drinks a bit of Kool-Aid,’ ” he said. “I’m tired of drinking the same Kool-Aid. And I want to make some new Kool-Aid so everybody can live a better life in Regina.”

When asked how people can trust he will follow through on his promises, he offered a straightforward answer: “Because I’m telling you and I’m willing to do that.”

Flegel said he has lots more to say before the Nov. 9 election.

“If the children, the moms, the dads, the parents (and) the grandkids aren’t happy with what’s going on in Regina, we need to fix it,” he explained. “You need a cultural change. I think I can be that difference.”