There are 11 mayoral candidates in the 2024 Regina civic elections. 980 CJME sent out a Q&A to each candidate. The election is on Nov. 13, 2024.

Melina Bushenlonga

Hometown: I was born and grew up in a warm small Greek town and moved to Canada, in Manitoba about a decade ago. My family came to Regina in 2019 to make this our home and become engaged in the local community.

Embarrassing playlist song: “My Heart Will Go On”

Why do you want to be Mayor of Regina?

Regina is where I choose to live with my family. I admire the strength, resilience and determination of the people in the prairies and I have made a lifestyle out of supporting my community. It is important to me to deliver in terms of stewardship. To be involved in the community in the way that most fully leverages my passion to get things done effectively and to lead groups to alignment, cooperation and shared vision to be able to act decisively for the best interests of our families and neighbourhoods.

How do you plan to address homelessness, given it’s not solely a municipal responsibility?

This is definitely a municipal consideration, as city-driven initiatives and funding programs exist and can be founded in order to drive solutions which target issues in lives prior to a person or family being on the threshold of losing their most important resource, that is of course shelter. Many opportunities to improve the social services the city currently offers have been identified by the community, and supported by experts.

I’d like to see a reduction in the barriers for people, especially youth, to become engaged in volunteering and other community-driven projects. Exploring possibilities such as eliminating costs associated with police background screening for employment and volunteering and reducing times to obtain required documents or services from the city to the same end.

Looking to other metro and urban centres that have implemented successful projects, research and what our own community identifies as needs and solutions is the most sensible starting point. I am welcoming our community leaders to help us to fully identify and understand the factors contributing to these social concerns, in order that we can then work together, hands-on to improve existing policies and programs and to blueprint novel strategies the city and community may implement to support our citizens real needs, goals and priorities.

What makes you hopeful?

It is so very important to stay focused on priorities. I am encouraged by the increasing engagement in government and democracy by all people. I have exciting and challenging conversations every day with people all over our beautiful city, and I can say for sure that people are asking hard and important questions and want to know more about how to be more involved and have their voices represented.

This is my passion, to bring people together to heal and cooperate effectively.

What do you think should be the city’s priority given Regina’s upcoming major projects, the debt, and how do you plan to fund them?

We are facing very real challenges with balancing all the projects and programs the city is struggling to support, albeit with admirable intentions. In order to make sure our communities are able to benefit at all from their investment of taxes, fees, as well as contributions of time and labour, we are obliged to re-evaluate the existing prioritization schedules, revisit commitments and timelines to eliminate any wasted efficiencies and re-align. Only after returning to fundamentals, can we ensure we are giving our city our best value for their investment.

Do you have a talent few people know about?

Just one?
I’ve been told often that people are motivated to participate and to collaborate when I’m involved in a thing; that people feel trusted, and accepted to allow them to feel empowered to offer their unique perspective. People. I love to be in service to people.

What superpower would you want?

Just one?
I can already bring people together to cooperate together over hard conversations. A lady ought to avoid asking for more.

What are the top three items you would address in your first 100 days as Mayor?

First, we are dedicated to including the community in the Mayor’s platforms, agendas, and commitments. Through ongoing dialogue and engagement with the community, I am well-apprised of what our community demands to be executed as effectively as possible. These are what Regina has stated to be their priorities, in this order:

1. Wasted resources and inefficiencies eliminated.
2. All-in on top-three current programs proven to reduce crime, with structured commitments to further community involvement in public-policy-reform and front-line community safety.
3. Re-alignment of priorities through community engagement and low-cost strategies to provide far better stewardship of our community’s treasured resources, and eliminate any inappropriate influences over public policy and expenditures.

How do you plan to address the challenges of population growth in areas like infrastructure, housing, and public services?

Our community has expressed many concerns that these priorities need better vision and direction from the city’s leadership. In all aspects of our community’s governance, I am already on the ground connecting people together. This is why it is just natural for me to lead our community in looking at the realities, settling on what we need, reaching a common vision and agreement and driving our city forward recognizing what we offer in terms of solutions to our challenges and what we offer the rest of the world.

How will you engage residents to increase municipal voter turnout in Regina?

I am out in our community and online, inviting conversation and questions and seeking input and feedback every day. This is not just about winning a campaign, to me and my supporters, this is our community we are taking ownership of, together.

What would you tell your 21-year-old self?

Keep going, 21-year-old Melina, you have so many great stories ahead!
Don’t forget to share your gifts along the way!