Meet Saskatoon mayoral candidate: Cary Tarasoff

Cary Tarasoff never saw himself as a politician, and he's still warming up to the title.

Regardless of political aspirations, Tarasoff has seen himself grow as a leader over his professional working life and feels Saskatoon could use more of that direct leadership these days.

“There's so many things that were costing me my tax dollars, but now my kids and my grandkids, and all my friends and I want a better quality of life for them," Tarasoff said.

"I see what's coming. We're going to get further and further down the road and life is not going to be better for them. Quality of life will be less than what I enjoyed as a kid, so I take this seriously, I really do. I want better things for the city. I want cleaner decisions.”

Tarasoff grew up in Saskatoon and by the time he was a teenager he had his sights set on the skies.

Wanting to be a pilot, Tarasoff joined naval reserve division HMCS Unicorn prior to being accepted as a Canadian Armed Forces pilot. An injury eventually took him out of the cockpit, and that's when Tarasoff says he learned valuable lessons in leadership and respect from his fellow officers.

Once he was put in leadership positions, he says he gained perspective on how to take care of others that helps him to this day.

After his miliary service, Tarasoff became a draftsman, and that's where he developed his technical eye and detailed inspection that's become a hallmark of his public persona as a staunch critic of City Hall spending and decision making.

"The things started clashing with what I knew to be true," Tarasoff said of his early critiques.

"And I started pushing back and I did it politely. I'd go to City Council and I just get blown off, blown off, blown off."

Tarasoff's many confrontations with city administration and city council have helped earn him a reputation as Tarasoff regularly posts videos delving into city reports and spending decisions, while also speaking at council meetings or leaving comments for public record.

"They made all the effort to try to avoid me, and so I just kept pushing harder. That's in my nature. If somebody pushes too hard against me, I don't give up. I lean harder, and that's what I need to do for the people of this city," Tarasoff said.

Tarasoff first took a run at the mayor's office in the 2020 civic election where he finished a distant fourth to Charlie Clark's second term re-election.

Since then, Tarasoff has doubled down on his critical approach, which eventually led him to being banned on the city's social media accounts.

While these circumstances may be unusual for a person intending to work with the very people who have banned him, Tarasoff doesn't feel it will affect his ability as a potential mayor.

"The people that will not follow logic that are at the city will find that I'm not going to just bend over for them all the time over a barrel," Tarasoff said. "I spend the time to do my own homework if I think it needs to be done."

Tarasoff feels many big spending items -- like Saskatoon's newly implemented bus rapid transit system Link — have skipped valuable steps and public consultation in an effort to chase federal funding.

He feels that approach is harmful and backwards.

"They say, 'Well, the government is going to give us money, so we're going to create a program for this.' Instead of saying, what does the community need? And then go create a plan and then go look for the funding. They do the reverse," he said.

A campaign theme from many candidates in this election is a return to core services. Tarasoff says the city has been spending far too much money on things that aren't part of its responsibilities, and he just wants the city to care for its services rather than drive an agenda.

"People have forgotten that there's core services at the city, and they've added things that were never core services, and they've actually taken precedent," Tarasoff said. "The purpose for certain things being done sometimes has nothing to do with the well-being of the taxpayers, and too often that is the case."

Trasoff said his main desire to run for mayor again is to be privy to all the information that comes with being elected.

Tarasoff feels he's noticed many errors or issues that have been corrected or altered, and he says being on many committees and being involved in closed door meetings will help him catch more issues before they're decided.

"I've come to the realization that the best purpose I have right now in life is to get in a position where I can do my best for my community," Tarasoff said.

Saskatoon's civic election is on Nov. 13.