It’s been a busy end to 2020 for Regina Mayor Sandra Masters.
Masters won her first-ever political campaign while also becoming the first woman elected mayor in the city.
Global News’ Daniella Ponticelli sat down with Masters to reflect on the year that changed everything.
The following are her answers in a Q&A format.
Q- 2020 is always going to be the year that you embarked on a major mayoral campaign during a pandemic. What motivated you to do that?
A- I think I felt like many of the citizens of Regina who felt we needed to change and add some energy into city hall to move the city forward into the future.
Q- Do you feel like you have that energy building right now?
A- Very much so, actually. We were talking about it yesterday, just in terms of the campaign where you could feel the energy and momentum growing during the campaign and towards Election Day and it still continues to this day.
Q- Speaking of that campaign, did you have any idea when you started what it would be like and then how did that all change when you throw a pandemic into the mix?
A- I have the benefit of having never campaigned before, so I didn’t know any different. I was able to play by the rules set before me and I think people have more time to kind of investigate issues and to get to know the candidates. That probably helped me because I didn’t have a lot of name recognition to start.
Q- You are the first woman elected mayor of Regina. We talked about it on the campaign trail, but how does it feel now that the work has started?
A- I think when you’re used to going to work every day, it feels, in some respects, normal. I think one of the really nice surprises is that energy and how excited everybody is. It’s notable for other people to see that representation at this level of office and the feedback is nothing but positive.
Q- As we head into a new year, one that will have changes and adjustments yet again, what is your message for the people of Regina?
A- Hang in there. I think we have so much to look forward to in 2021. So, wear your masks, keep your bubble small. We want to keep those numbers down, not to overwhelm our first responders, health-care workers. Then we can look forward to the summer, where just by virtue of the weather, we’re going to be able to be outside. Vaccine rollout should happen by then and we should, by the last half of 2021, be ready to kick it into full gear.