REGINA - Ward One council candidate Dan Rashovich is speaking out about an Advance Regina mailout which he claims misrepresents him.
Rashovich, a former star linebacker with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, emphasized to reporters Wednesday outside City Hall that he has no affiliation with Advance Regina.
“I want to represent my constituents, and then obviously represent the city, and I want to make it clear that I'm running independently,” said Rashovich. “I don't want people to perceive that I'm being either funded or affiliated with Advance Regina.”
As for how the mail-out came to be, Rashovich told reporters he did receive a questionnaire from the Advance Regina organization about a week earlier, which he filled out and returned to them. The questionnaire asked for yes or no answers, Rashowich said, but he did not answer the questions yes or no.
“I answered the questions with some verbiage, like paragraphs explaining, because a lot of issues are not a yes-no.”
Rashowich indicated that after he sent in his response, Advance Regina then sent out a flyer to residents in which there were inaccuracies. The flyer had check marks beside Rashovich's answers to several questions, including one on the $240 million pool project.
“So, you know, so on this questionnaire, it was pointing... it basically said I did not support the Aquatic Centre, you know. And then there's also nuances in all the check marks, because a lot of things are not just a yes-no. You need to have more information, you need to understand things, and obviously, once you're a councillor, you'll be... you'll get that data."
The Aquatic Centre project has turned out to be a major issue in the election. For clarity, Rashovich says he supports the Aquatic Centre, but adds “obviously, hey, let's look at the... we still need to get some final numbers, and we need to make sure that the geothermal is going to work, because that's $28 million dollars.
“So, there's obviously … there's things we still need to look at to make sure it's going to be feasible and work, but we should get on that, you know, sooner than later obviously.”
When asked if he got any notice that this flyer would be sent out, Rashowich said no.
“I had no heads up, so, you know, I didn't know. Yeah, like, obviously I wasn't forewarned that they were going to send it out. I guess the first time I saw it was when I had a constituent email it to me and asking me, questioning me on the mail out."
When asked what his reaction was to the mail-out, Rashovich said he was “a little angry, you know — I was a little frustrated.” He told reporters it was not "what I've been telling people at the door, you know.”
Rashowich said he contacted Advance Regina, and said they told him they will “go back and do another mail out, explaining that, you know, some of the things that they sent out were wrong.”
Rashovich said he wanted to clear the air because "because I've been getting emails and phone calls, and 'you said this' and 'you said that,' and I just want to make it clear that, you know, that I am not supported by Advance Regina, or funded. I am independent, and that's kind of the major thing... I'm a man of my word, and I want people to know that.”
Rashovich is currently in a hotly-contested race in Ward One against former NDP cabinet minister Joanne Crofford, librarian Jessie Morris who recently received an endorsement from outgoing Ward 3 councillor Andrew Stevens, and University of Regina student Tahla Khan.
Rashovich said he is new to politics and chalked up the situation with the Advance Regina brochures as “quite a learning experience." He made it known he doesn’t want it impacting the election.
“Again, you know, there's only a week 'til the election, and I don't want that to hurt my chances. And you know, I was pretty upset about it, because again, you know, you want to be a person of your word, and what you're telling people at the door.”
Third-party involvement an issue in 2024 municipal vote
The influence of third-party groups on the election campaign has been a hot topic of discussion. Advance Regina has run a sustained social media campaign over the past several months in opposition to municipal increases to taxes and fees, and "misplaced spending" at Regina City Hall.
The organization has been critical of initiatives such as the Dewdney Avenue name change which was ultimately defeated, as well as the move to lower speed limits in Cathedral neighbourhood to 30 km/h. Those speed limits in that speed zone were ultimately set at 40 km/h.
The same group has endorsed several candidates on the 2024 council ballot including Rashovich, although it’s unclear how many of those candidates are actually affiliated with the organization. It is also known that Advance Regina has been sending out their brochures to other wards as well during this election campaign.
Another group known as Regina Civic Action Awareness Network, which has opposed “woke” policies in schools and with candidates running slogans such as “education over indoctrination,” has also been active this campaign cycle. The group is backing several candidates running for Regina Public School Board against the current incumbents.
One more organization has gotten involved late in this municipal campaign. Common Sense Regina.com has put up billboards attacking Sandra Masters, seeking re-election for Mayor, and incumbents Bob Hawkins and Jason Mancinelli, both seeking re-election to council.
That particular billboard campaign has been reportedly linked to an Alberta-based libertarian organization which has run similar campaigns in other cities including Saskatoon.
The organization does not appear to be endorsing any candidates in particular, opting instead to voice opposition to Masters, Hawkins and Mancinelli. The Regina billboards include one with a picture of Masters alongside the words “Waste. Crime. Dysfunction.”
Another billboard lumped together photos of Masters, Hawkins and Mancinelli underneath the words "Tired of this Experience, Regina?" The billboard campaign has since been denounced publicly by the candidates targeted.
On Tuesday, candidate for mayor Lori Bresciani was asked by reporters about the influence of these third-party groups and whether any of them were backing her own campaign. She replied they were not.
“Nope, not at all, I have no attachment to any group,” said Bresciani. “I am running a grassroots campaign. I am not taking any dollars at all from any interest groups, anybody like that that I know.”
As for the Common Sense Regina billboards targeting three other sitting council incumbents, Bresciani said “I don’t know where they’re coming from. I don’t know who these people are. I don’t know what their intent is.… I could be on one next, I don’t know.”
