'Refocus Regina': City councillor Lori Bresciani announces mayoral run

After eight years on city council, Lori Bresciani will challenge Sandra Masters for the job of mayor in this fall’s municipal election.

Under the slogan "Refocus Regina" Bresciani announced her candidacy in an event on Tuesday.

“Regina has experienced four years of unmet expectations,” she said in her remarks. “It’s for leadership that delivers. I’m committed to a plan that brings results, not empty promises.”

Bresciani said a city council under her leadership would pursue a “practical, results-driven approach to governance.”

Her platform includes a focus on financial accountability and affordability, improving core services, economic growth and community safety.

“In reflection of the last four years, there’s some things I wanted to do differently,” Bresciani told reporters. “I would talk more about the debt and the financial piece in our city.”

“That is something that’s vitally important to me,” she added.

• Here's an early look at the candidates for Regina's fall municipal election

She highlighted fiscal responsibility, community engagement and business collaboration as key aspects of her candidacy.

First elected to represent Ward 4 in 2016, Bresciani has served on the board of police commissioners, the Frost Festival planning committee and on the board of directors for the Canadian Western Agribition, in addition to other roles.

“[Ward 4] has flourished while I have been the spokesperson,” Bresciani said. “Now I get to be the spokesperson for the city.”

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Prior to her time in Henry Baker Hall, Bresciani volunteered in both the civic and provincial fields of health and education, according to her official profile with the city.

Bresciani is the latest to enter the race for Regina’s mayorship and marks the first city councillor to challenge the incumbent mayor, Sandra Masters.

Other challengers have announced their intentions to run in the fall. They include 27-year-old field technician contractor Brandon Abtosway, former Eden Care Communities CEO Bill Pratt, Shawn Sparvier, and Chad Bachynski.

A total of 49 mayors have been elected in Regina since its founding as a town in the North-West Territories in 1883.