Rob Norris says he's not running a slate of candidates for municipal election

Former Sask. Party cabinet minister and Saskatoon mayoral contender Rob Norris says he's not running a slate, despite several seemingly like-minded candidates having declared their intentions to run in the Nov. 9 municipal election

"No, not at all," Norris said Tuesday at his third media event since he launched his campaign on June 25. "There is no slate."

Norris said concerns about public safety and affordability — which have been cited by other candidates as priorities in interviews and campaign materials since Norris launched his bid — are cropping up among a broad stream of candidates of various political stripes. 

"You're seeing, I think, people responding to what they're hearing from their neighbours and from their colleagues and associates," he said. 

"There are issues that people feel just haven't haven't been given the appropriate time and attention."

Safety comes up again and again

In the speech that launched his campaign, Norris first mentioned "a more affordable Saskatoon" and "a safer Saskatoon" as top concerns.

Other candidates have since trafficked in similar campaign rhetoric. 

• Here's who's running (so far) in the 2020 Saskatoon municipal election, ward by ward

Rozalia Kasleder, a former international partnerships specialist at the University of Saskatchewan, is running against incumbent Hilary Gough in Ward 2.

Kasleder was asked in late July why she was running. She said she was passionate about economic development and cited safety as a concern. 

Kasleder said she wants more police officers patrolling the Pleasant Hill neighbourhood, on top of the two Saskatoon police officers currently dedicated to patrolling the area per shift (partly in anticipation of a safe consumption site that will open in the neighbourhood this October). 

Norris, in his campaign launch speech, said Clark's tenure as mayor has been marred by a rise in crime.

Brian Shalovelo, a superintendent with the Saskatoon Police Service who is retiring from the force in September, is running in Ward 8 against incumbent Sarina Gersher.

Among the priorities listed on Shalovelo's website are a "back-to-basics approach to spending" and "a safer Saskatoon."

• Retiring Saskatoon cop eyes Ward 8 seat, abstains from 'defund the police' question

Carol Reynolds, a business owner running against incumbent Mairin Loewen in Ward 7, launched her campaign last week with Norris in attendance. 

"Here's a short personal and basic platform message. 1. Safety. 2. Taxes and accountability. 3.Supporting Small Business," she wrote in a Monday post on her campaign Facebook page.

Norris said Tuesday that he is longtime friends with Ward 3 candidate Chris Sicotte and that he's known Kasleder for years. Sicotte has said Norris encouraged him to enter municipal politics.

Norris also said he's known Reynolds for many years and that Shalovelo approached him to tell him he was running.  

Sicotte attended Norris' second campaign event — on the day Mayor Charlie Clark confirmed he will seek a second term in office. 

"Rob is right in terms of affordability," Sicotte said shortly after declaring his candidacy in late June. "That seems to be something front and centre that people are quite concerned about."

Sicotte said he and Norris — a friend of 20 years — are not running a slate, but that Norris' past as a Sask. Party cabinet minister can't help but stand out.   

"You can't skirt the issue about the fact that Rob has close ties with people that are within government," Sicotte said. "He became friends with a lot of those people from his time in government as well. I don't think that he's adopting a Sask. Party policy, if you will."

Norris has come under attack from fellow mayoral candidate Mark Zielke for allegedly doing just that. 

On his Twitter feed shortly after Norris' campaign launch, Zielke introduced a video critique of Norris while touting himself as "as a non-partisan advocate who is not affiliated with any political party."

Clark, for his part, has said he won't campaign until September and, unlike Norris and Zielke, has not delved into personal attacks. 

Clark did aim to distinguish himself, however, during his campaign launch speech. 

"The reason I like municipal politics is it's not partisan," he said. "It focuses on looking at each issue and identifying what are the best solutions. You might have solutions from people who are more on the left and you might have solutions from people more on the right and you listen to all of them and then you come together and you bring the best one."

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New campaign pledges

Norris touted some new affordability-themed policy goals Tuesday during his campaign event. 

He said that if elected as mayor, he will seek to reduce the annual business licence renewal fee for commercial and home-based businesses to $50 from $85. 

Norris also promised to introduce a new seasonal flat fee of $750 for food truck operators, instead of the $720 currently charged for the first three months, with monthly extensions costing another $240 a month.

Norris estimated the city would lose $200,000 to $300,000 by doing that, but said that could be offset by delaying plans for a pilot bus-rapid-transit station. 

He also called on August 18 to be deemed "Saskatoon Day."