Regina mayoral candidate Sandra Masters believes she has the right plan to help Regina move forward.

On a windy Thursday morning in front of city hall in Regina, Masters said she strongly feels the city has more potential than is currently being realized. She said her “action driven platform”, one she admitted to reporters is an ambitious plan, is what’s needed to re-energize the Queen City.

Her platform focuses on four key pillars: improving city operations, building a safe community, creating fair opportunities and focusing on people and jobs.

“Perhaps the greatest thing that Regina needs is a strong leader,” stated Masters during the announcement. “A leader who is people-focused, solutions-driven, one who is open-minded and able to build relationships, whose purpose is to connect people and organizations.”

While each pillar is valuable to her plan, Masters said she won’t know how to move the city forward as mayor until she has an understanding of how to improve city operations. It’s one of the first items she would tackle.

“City operational efficiency is to understand what is getting in our way, where there are opportunities, where savings can be found because we know community organizations need investment, arts and culture needs investment, tourism needs investment,” she explained.

Masters listed a number of key actions from her platform if she was elected Regina’s next mayor:

• Conduct an operations efficiency review within the first six months and commit to finding 15 per cent in savings from increased efficiencies.
• Increase accountability and predictability of annual city budgets and taxes with better planning, and will use tools such as multi-year budgeting to improve predictability.
• Work with the Regina Police Service and community organizations to develop a proactive policing strategy, focused on harm reduction and community relations.
• Create an anti-poverty strategy within one year of being elected.
• Explore opportunities related to biofuel and renewable energy developments.
• work to attract investment, both public and private, in sectors of strength such as agri-food, technology and environmental services.
• Eliminate the 29 per cent intensification levy.
• Work towards a vibrant downtown that includes investment attraction, creating a plan for a new downtown library and multi-use cultural facility to replace the current facility within 10 years.
• Implement an Indigenous Procurement Strategy for city hall and encourage other businesses to do the same.
• Move to action on the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

More information about her platform can be found at her team’s website.