A fresh face is joining Saskatoon’s mayoral race.
Kelley Moore, a director with Saskatchewan’s Social Services Ministry and a former City of Saskatoon planner, announced her candidacy Monday.
“I think Saskatoon is a beautiful, wonderful place. There have been lots of great things, but I think we need to expect more from our government,” she told CTV News. “I’m not satisfied with the direction that things are going.”
The 43-year-old is the director of community and client services for the Ministry of Social Services’ disability programs and the co-owner of Prairie Wild Consulting, a community planning and social research company in Saskatoon.
She holds two degrees from the University of Saskatchewan — an urban and regional planning degree and a master of arts degree — and was both a planner with the city and a housing policy director for the province before landing her current job.
She’s also been involved with fundraising for the Saskatoon and Area United Way and co-authored the Canadian Index of Wellbeing, which measures quality of life across the country.
“I have a really unique combination of skill sets that I think the other candidates can’t offer at this time,” she said.
Moore has lived in Saskatoon for the last 33 years and says her candidacy provides a fresh perspective to the mayoral race.
“I think the other thing that really sets me apart is I haven’t been a politician,” she said.
“For me, this is an opportunity to step up, add to the debate and create some different perspective than what we’ve heard before, and I think we do need a fresh eye on how things are going at City Hall to help move us forward.”
She specifically wants to see a review of city income and expenses and to combat Saskatoon’s title as Canada’s crime capital.
“We have to listen to the police chief when he says we need to get to the root causes of crime. It’s not just about adding more police services,” she said.
Moore’s not worried her candidacy will split voters who are aiming for a new face in the mayor’s chair — Don Atchison has been mayor since 2003.
“We’ve done our research. It shows there are a lot of people looking for a brand new perspective,” she said. “I think there is a lot of room in this campaign for another contender.”
She’s the fourth candidate to enter the race.
Atchison confirmed in late 2014 he’d be seeking re-election; three-term city councillor Charlie Clark announced his mayoral bid in May; and former mayor Henry Dayday threw his hat into the ring in early June.
--- with files from CTV Saskatoon's Emily Pasiuk
