Former police officer for the Weyburn Police Service, Dana Pretzer, will be running for City Council in the upcoming election.
Pretzer is a longtime resident of Weyburn and served as a police officer for 33 years, retiring in 2015 with the rank of Sergent. He has served on various community councils and committees, currently on the Weyburn Housing Authority Board. This is his second time running for a position on the council.
“One of the first questions they asked me at the last one was, if you're not successful in this election, would you run in the next one? And my answer was yes. Guess what? I'm a man of my word and I'm running in this election.”
Pretzer says he’s always been community minded and wants to represent all the residents of Weyburn.
“I did it so long as a police officer and in the community and I want to continue doing it. I think I'm that guy that knows this community very well. I'm that guy that can be your voice. If you have a concern, you bring it to me, because when you're elected to a board or a council, you're representing the people that elect you.”
Pretzer notes his understanding of the city, municipal government and their interactions with the provincial and federal governments as an asset. If elected, he plans to use this alongside his connection with the community to address issues observed in the city.
"I'm approachable. You can call me, you can email me, you can flag me down on the street. As a city council member, you're only one voice. You don't have really any individual power but what I can guarantee, though, is that I'll be the guy that will be bringing it to City Hall.”
Pretzer mentions specific issues he hopes to address if elected.
“Safety is so important. Things have changed a lot since 2015 when I retired. All you have to do is look at Discover Weyburn or spend a day and observe court. There's a lot of crime going on out there and we want the citizens to be safe.”
Alongside crime rates he also addresses improving the tax base and a focus on revitalization.
“We want to have a good tax base. We don't because it's costing you more and more every day for small things and then get a big tax bill at the end of the year that you weren't expecting. We have to have a good tax base, although the departments in the city still need to be funded properly.”
“Let's support our local business so the folks aren't driving into Regina or down to the States. We have a lot of good businesspeople in town here. We need to support them. We need to encourage more business in community.”
When discussing specific boards or committees, Pretzer says he’d give one hundred percent to any board he’s assigned to but expresses a penchant for the police commission.
“Of course, I'd love to be part of the Police Commission, I'm a retired police officer.”
Pretzer notes the many elections forthcoming locally, provincially, and potentially federally “People will get tired of voting, but it's just so important that people go out and vote because they want to have someone that will be there for them. And that's what I'm hoping I can do.”
Campaigning will begin on September 29th with voting to conclude at the end of the day on November 13th.