EAST CENTRAL — The mayor of Naicam is running for the top spot of the Municipalities of Saskatchewan.
Rodger Hayward said his main focus, if elected as president of the organization, is to bring back unity back to the organization and improve transparency of its operations for its member communities.
“With another term ahead of us, I wanted to offer all our members the dedication and commitment they deserve, and I decided the best way to do that was run for president,” Hayward said. “I want to focus on putting our members and their needs first and being a strong voice for Saskatchewan hometowns.”
Hayward is currently the Municipalities of Saskatchewan’s vice-president of towns. He will be running against incumbent Gordon Barnhart, the mayor of Saltcoats. The election will be held on Feb. 8, during the organization's virtual convention.
“In light of recent events by our present president and his trip out of country for a holiday and just a few other decisions he's made over the last couple of years, I wanted to make sure our members had a choice in who they want to be our president,” Hayward said.
“I wanted to make sure he wasn’t acclaimed, that our members had a choice and I thought it was time for me to step up and do that.”
One of the Municipalities of Saskatchewan’s bigger members, Prince Albert, is looking at leaving the organization. According to the Prince Albert Daily Herald, the city is examining whether it is getting value for the approximately $25,000 it pays to belong to the organization. Greg Dionne, Prince Albert’s mayor, told the Herald that they were concerned about this year’s convention being done virtually, as well as about Barnhart’s trip.
Hayward said the Municipalities of Saskatchewan needs to retain its members because there’s strength in numbers, in representing roughly 80 per cent of the province’s population.
“If I'm elected, I will definitely reach out to not only Mayor Dionne, but all of our city councils and talk about the issues that they're seeing and what the organization needs to change or do better to make sure we keep all of our members in the organization.”
Hayward said unity is needed in the Municipalities of Saskatchewan.
“We need to bring that back, everybody working together on the same items, because so many of our challenges are the same whether you’re a small village, resort village, northern community, city or town.”
The relationship with the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities is also a concern for Hayward. Last year, at the end of its convention, in what was seen as a surprise by many, the Municipalities of Saskatchewan announced that it would take up that name, moving away from the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association moniker.
The Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities argues that the Municipalities of Saskatchewan name implies that it represents rural municipalities when it does not and is lobbying the provincial government to reverse the name change.
Hayward said if elected, he’d connect with Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities.
“That is definitely one of the first things I will do, is reach out and have some good, honest and open discussions with them. I've known a lot of their board for quite a while, I know their president, Ray Orb, very well and we have spoken already,” he said.
“I will be reaching out to them to try to mend those fences and work together on projects. That’s the whole idea of being in Saskatchewan: we try and work together, not apart.”
