October 24, 2012

Michael Fougere wins race to become Regina's mayor

RICHARD GILBERT

staff writer

The president of the Saskatchewan Construction Association and Regina city councillor Michael Fougere beat eight other candidates to win the race for mayor in the city's civic election last night.

He is replacing Pat Fiacco.

Fougere will be sworn in as mayor-elect on Nov. 5 and will resign his position as president of the Saskatchewan Construction Association.

He campaigned on a promise to call for a housing summit and make it a priority to increase the supply of affordable housing.

“I do want the summit to come early on to talk with federal, provincial and of course the city, as well as individuals to say what they think the solutions are,” said Fougere. “But, this is an action plan. It’s not more talk, it an action plan.”

He supports the Regina Revitalization Initiative, which includes 700 new market and affordable housing units and a $278 million open-air football stadium at Evraz Place.

Fougere was the lone candidate to support a funding arrangement between the city, the province and the Saskatchewan Roughriders for the project.

One of the key concepts of Fougere’s election platform is a promise to take the initiative and make sure projects are done quickly, efficiently and economically.

“The city has to take a look at its regulatory environment,” he said. “How quickly we provide approval for development of land and what we can do in terms of grants and tax exemptions to encourage more housing.”

His platform was based on taking a leadership role to ensure a fiscally responsible approach to city spending, as well as managing for sustainable growth.

Fougere graduated from St. Francis Xavier University with a Bachelor of Arts and obtained a Masters of Science degree from London School of Economics.

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