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.

Kevin Kardash

Hometown: Regina

Embarrassing playlist song: “If I Could Turn Back Time” by Cher.

Why do you want to be Mayor of Regina?

That is a good question because I have seen our city become neglected in some areas. It is time that the little guy to step in and make a difference. I see our city more than face value and not just topics of concern within our city on paper. You don’t have to be a crown corporation or tied with a bachelor’s degree. What I think why i am running is to open the eyes of our fellow residents of Regina, that people with less involvement with higher corps can provide a grounded approach to how things need to be addressed to the council in order to be fair and equal for all to vote on. We need more involvement in less numbers and more value in our city, yes the numbers are very important to running and keeping our city afloat but it’s just a fragment of what we need to do.

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

Homelessness has been a huge pandemic in our city for a long time, which isn’t the best option for our residents but has become the norm. I want to provide more accessible housing and resources to get those back on track and get those who need more or finish their ongoing education; and basic life skills that lead them back on the streets to their future job and careers. The shelters and organizations that are in place or in the works from current mayor Sandra Masters will be first priority on my list to finish and consider more options as well. I feel very strongly about the Soul Harbour and halfway homes and the small shelters we have already need more resources and security to maintain long-term benefits for more residents of Regina.

What makes you hopeful?

I am hopeful as a candidate because I feel that being at a young age and exposed to politics. Having an older father gave me more of a good insight on the world at a young age. I have been a huge historical man, I am constantly researching and learning about our city and the previous politicians and what they did to run our city and what I could potentially use as well in this day and age. I find myself referencing Tommy Douglas a lot, as I look up to him and liked how he ran the province from 1944 to 1961. I could bring what we did into our city on a smaller scale to get our city back on track.

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?

I would downscale the project budget for the Lawson. Make sure we do renovate the poolside and make sure it’s up to code because I feel that we don’t need such a big aquatic centre. It definitely would be paid for by the consumers because we need more foot traffic in the real district. The arenas that are a big topic like the Brandt Centre have been on my mind for a while now, I do agree with the budget of the aquatic going towards completely renovating the Brandt Centre arena to be more established, better esthetic with the renovations being superficial and not having any structural issues that would be ideal with the continuous use for the Pats and other sports that use the arena all year round.

Do you have a talent few people know about?

I don’t believe I have a talent per se but I do have the best communication skills when it comes down to one-on-one delivery because the intimate settings to listen completely without distraction is a big ‘talent’ some can not do when given the chance because they love to do big crowd interactions so they do not need to be prepared to the unexpected. I am good with the unexpected questions and concerns.

What superpower would you want?

If I could have a superpower it would be the ability to turn back time to the days that we didn’t have a major inflation and we all could live within our means. What I mean by this is that we all deserve some peace in this world and back in the day say even 15 years ago we could provide a lot more affordable items for daily use for all. It might have not been completely smooth sailing or kinkproof but it was a lot easier on society.

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

I would address the homeless shelter that is already in place for the Eagles Club location, continue to revamp to a possible solution for the Lawson to become more affordable for all with the updates necessary to thrive with more foot traffic. Motion towards the bylaw of the smoking in the stadium to be changed to being allowed to smoke in a designated area and allowed back inside, we shouldn’t be telling our smokers that they aren’t allowed back in but we can have so many who consume alcohol to be able to stumble around and enjoy.

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

The growing population has been a huge influx in the past five years, it is awesome we have so many new faces to our city, but I would continue to grow the housing upwards into town homes or apartment complexes that are high rises to accommodate the affordability and infrastructure issue with constant construction, the already built ones would be feasible to maintain quick builds and have people move in faster. The bus routes could change to accommodate new areas to help all to get around. Also, to have more smaller grocery stores and amenities closer to people would help those who can’t travel.

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

Being a younger candidate it has come to be word of mouth within going to the care homes, talking to those who can’t mingle within the community and also going around very high traffic of people such as the Wascana Park which is our best attraction for all ages which includes younger voters who I strongly have been encouraging to vote as it’s their future as well and they have a voice and their votes matter!

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

I would tell my 21-year-old self to be more open to opportunities and never say no to learning more about this world. I would also tell myself when I was 21-years-old to be more open to learning and accepting everyone’s opinions on how things should be.