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Zach Jeffries probably ranked among the people you expected to hear from during this civic election campaign in Saskatoon.

Ward 10 councilor was acclaimedremoving any obligation to comment on questions. Then came a spurious claim last week from mayoral candidate Don Atchison, which Atchison called a “major financial injustice” in a histrionic press release that also used the words “disturbing” and “unlawful.” ethics “.

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Atchison said the distribution of funds from a provincial recycling agency unfairly subsidizes people living in apartments and townhouses, compared to those living in single-family homes, who pay more, but receive much more expensive service .

That proved too much for Jeffries, who represents Ward 10, which was the former mayor’s council seat. The veteran advisor responded to posts on Atchison’s social media accounts by highlighting his real record on the matter.

In 2014, Atchison spearheaded use money from the provincial agency to offset the costs of implementing a curbside recycling program for apartments and townhouses.

Jeffries and current Mayor Charlie Clarkwho is not seeking re-election, are part of the minority who strongly opposed the decision.

Atchison justified his support for a recycling contract with Cosmopolitan Industries Ltd. at the time with the line: “The communities are built on kindness and sharing.” But his current campaignwho is assisted by Ken Gryschuk, Cosmo’s former chief business officer, focuses on division and blame.

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And this is the second time he has shown blatant hypocrisy regarding decisions he made when he was mayor.

Earlier last month, Atchison claimed there was a secret plan from the town hall to bulldoze Confederation Mall in favor of building a transit village, using a graphic showing a potential overhaul of the area from a four-year-old city report.

This obvious nonsense was later shared on social media with similar posts from council candidates. Robert Pearce (Ward 3) and Courtney Saliken (Ward 4), who belong to the so-called business group that organized the event at which Atchison made his first claim.

Pearce’s post was also shared on X (formerly Twitter) by Ward 7 candidate Justin Wiens.

And the lie was further amplified by Ward 2 candidate Karen Kobussen, who shared the same graphic on Facebook with the inflammatory label “Goodbye races?

City Hall bureaucrats issued a press release mid-campaign to counter misinformation.

Yet in 2016, Atchison voted with the rest of the council in favor of the city’s growth plan, which included the bus rapid transit system as the backbone and greater density along Eighth Street and 22nd Street, where the Confederation Shopping Center is located.

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Atchison appears to be trying to warn people against what he himself supported.

But it’s fitting that Atchison would focus on recycling, since that word defines his mayoral bid. You may think it is candidate for mayor in 2024but in reality he is only relaunching his 2003 campaign.

This includes the ridiculous “zero property tax increase” of his first mayoral bid, which was abandoned as soon as he took office. Tax increases during Atchison’s 13 years as mayor have averaged slightly higher than during Clark’s eight years, even though Atchison never faced the fiscal challenges of the last two terms.

Thus, only the truly gullible would now believe its fiscal objective. He also recycled his ridiculous example of someone carrying a television down the street to try to justify random stops by police.

The 72-year-old also misses the good old days, as he misses standing on the sidelines of busy streets and waving at vehicles to campaign. A Facebook post from Atchison’s campaign this week claimed, “They made this illegal!” » and called the ban on distracting motorists an attack on freedom of expression.

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As for who “they” are, it was the city council that Atchison allegedly led in 2009 that approved the security measure. This council also included Atchison’s opponent for mayor, Gord Wyant.

Atchison admitted that he ran a cash-strapped campaignrather, it seems to rely on outlandish claims and misrepresentations to attract attention.

He might be better served risking the fines by standing on the side of the roads and waving.

Phil Tank is the digital opinion editor of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix.

ptank@postmedia.com

twitter.com/thinktankSK

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