Saskatoon mayoralty race gets 1st candidate

A former Saskatoon city councillor who campaigned to protect a city landmark from demolition is running for mayor.

Lenore Swystun announced her candidacy on Wednesday.

Swystun was part of a group that fought to save the Gathercole building in Saskatoon's south downtown.

The squat brick building overlooking the riverbank once housed the city's Technical College and later the public school division offices.

However, Swystun's group lost its fight against Mayor Don Atchison to preserve it. The building was torn down to make way for a hotel and theatre complex called River Landing.

Swystun was defeated in the 2003 council election, coming in a close second in the Ward 1 race.

She is the first person to declare for the mayor's job. Atchison has yet to confirm he is running again in the fall contest.

Meanwhile, former mayor Jim Maddin, the man Atchison defeated in 2003, said he'll make an announcement in a week or two.

Maddin, a retired police inspector, said he has been approached by hundreds of people urging him to run again.