Bachynski won a tight race over Bresciani and Masters to become Regina’s mayor-elect
Regina voters had a long list of options to choose from when they cast their ballot for mayor today, with 11 candidates seeking to fill the biggest shoes inside city hall.
And by 10:30 p.m. and all polls reporting, candidate Chad Bachynski was all smiles.
Having booked Regina Brewing for a private party, he watched on with a grin at his lead over former Ward 4 councillor and fellow mayoral candidate Lori Bresciani and incumbent Sandra Masters, in second and third place respectively.
He was surrounded by friends and family, many wearing T-shirts sporting the slogan “Chad Bachynski: Hard to spell, easy to choose.”
In the end, Bachynski led the way with 16,508 votes, or 31.50 per cent of the vote, 3,467 ahead of Bresciani (13,041 votes for 24.89 per cent) and 4,394 ahead of Masters (12,114 for 23.12 per cent). Bill Pratt finished fourth with 6,362 votes for 12.14 per cent.
There were a total of 52,402 votes cast according to the city’s website The other seven candidates were each below three per cent of the vote.
After polls closed at 8 p.m., candidates and their supporters set up camp in different locations across the city to await results.
Shortly before 9 p.m., a crowd at The Hampton Hub in Regina’s Heritage neighbourhood began to take an optimistic tone toward Bachynski as his lead over the incumbent began to solidify.
As his name and vote count showed up on a wall-mounted TV in the corner of the restaurant, comments of “I actually think Chad’s going to win” rippled through the crowd.
Across the city at the Atlas Hotel, Masters also gathered with a watch-party of supporters and campaign volunteers to anxiously await results.
Stagnating in third place behind Bachynski and Bresciani, the mood in the room was somewhat subdued. As Masters prepared to speak with media around 10:30 p.m., Bachynski was making his way to city hall, where the mayor elect typically addresses media.
Supporters of Bresciani gathered at IKS Media for a watch-party, enjoying pizza amid a buzzing ambience until numbers start coming in.
She was joined by a room full of family, friends, campaign staff and volunteers to close out a busy several weeks of campaigning. Her husband Rob, who is also running for re-election as a Regina Catholic School’s board trustee, was one among the crowd.
As of 9 p.m., Bresciani was ahead over Masters by nearly 200 votes but behind Bachynski by 1,800.
Earlier in the day, Bresciani said her ultimate decision to take this leap and run for mayor was made because of her family.
“Family is so important,” she said.
Earlier Wednesday, Leader-Post city hall reporter Larissa Kurz and photojournalist Kayle Neis spent election day dropping in on mayoral candidates to see what they were up to before they settled in for the night.
From early morning workouts and the daily work grind to home projects and relaxing with loved ones, most hopefuls hadn’t donned their politician hats quite yet, but many were feeling some jitters on the final day of the campaign trail.
We reached out to all 11 of the candidates ahead of election day. Here’s a slice-of-life look at the eight who were available Wednesday, a day they hoped would end in celebration.
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