Former Saskatoon mayor Don Atchison has a message for the residents he’s served since he was first elected to city council in 1994.
“The citizens have been absolutely phenomenal to work with over the years and I just want to say thank you to each and every one of them.”
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Atchison only briefly spoke to reporters last Wednesday night after losing Saskatoon’s mayoral race to Charlie Clark. Roughly a week later he opened up about his time in office on Global News Morning and explained why he waited to do so.
“Mayor Clark had won the election and I think he needed to have his time to shine,” Atchison said Thursday morning.
“I don’t think he needed to have myself coming right behind him on his coattails talking right away.”
Atchison was elected as Saskatoon’s mayor in 2003, after serving roughly nine years on city council. He had his hand in various major projects, like Circle Drive’s expansion; however other ventures he supported, like the Remai Modern Art Gallery, will officially open without Atchison cutting the ribbon.
“The Parkway Commuter Bridge, the Traffic Bridge that will open in October of 2018,” Atchison said, as he listed future city projects.
READ MORE: Last span of old Traffic Bridge coming down in November
Atchison served as a leader that was seemingly everywhere at once. Records show the four term mayor attended 8,758 events, met the press 2,134 times and returned 32,965 phone calls from his desk.
“That doesn’t include cell phones, doesn’t include on the road making phone calls,” Atchison said.
“Probably closer to 50,000 returned calls in the end.”
However, it was Atchison’s absence that drew some of his most recent criticism; as the former mayor was singled out for not attending Saskatoon’s pride parades. In 2016, he said he was unable to attend the event because it coincided with his father’s 90th birthday.
Atchison is Saskatoon’s longest serving mayor and never missed a council meeting. After his victory in the 2016 election, incoming Saskatoon Mayor Charlie Clark took time away from his celebration to reflect on his opponent’s service.
“I think he needs to be and will be remembered as a mayor who helped to change the shape of this city,” Clark said on election night.
“He has worked in that role and there’s lots of things that he can be proud of as his legacy for Saskatoon.”
WATCH BELOW: Don Atchison reflects on 22 years of civic politics
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