Pat Fiacco
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Pat Fiacco is the current Mayor of Regina, capital city of Saskatchewan, Canada. He has been mayor since defeating long time mayor Doug Archer in 2000 and was acclaimed to his 2nd term on September 24, 2003 when no one ran against him. He was re-elected for a third term on October 25, 2006. He is Regina's 33rd Mayor since Regina was incorporated as a City in 1903.
The son of Italian immigrants, Pasquale Fiacco was born in Regina in 1962, was raised and lived there throughout his life.
Mayor Fiacco has a keen interest in physical fitness and sports. He is a former provincial and Canadian amateur boxing champion. In 1999 he served as a Canadian Boxing Official for the PanAm Games and is currently the National Chief Official for Boxing Canada.
In the 2000 mayoral election, Fiacco as a relative newcomer received an endorsement from the Regina Police Association who were disgruntled about the reduction in officers serving with the Regina Police Service since Archer began his term in 1988. In 2002, Mayor Fiacco launched his "I Love Regina" campaign in 2002 in order to improve the reputation of Regina among its citizens and try to win back people that had left for Alberta.
Fiacco faced re-election in October, 2006. On October 25, 2006, Fiacco was re-elected,with approximately 85% of the popular vote in the mayoralty contest with a 35% turnout, despite some controversy over land ownership and development. (Fiacco Family Land Holdings) Fiacco Statement This election result was won in face of Fiacco's second term being rockier than his first. It began with the city council and Fiacco's plan to close three small inner city libraries, part of the Regina Public Library service. The plan was unpopular from the conception and was abandoned after public outcry and considerable protest from a group called Friends of the Regina Public Library.
Fiacco's political affiliations are unknown, but has generally followed a free-enterprise line oriented toward low taxes and economic growth. He strongly supports developments in the east end of the city. 2006 mayoral Address
In 2006, an article in Maclean's magazine labelled Regina's inner city Canada's worst neighbourhood. Fiacco had a strong reaction to the article and participated in a magazine burning, with a local radio station. Then he encouraged people to cancel their subscriptions to the magazine. Even though, the article was quite correct in its evidence sourced from Statistics Canada, CSIS and the Regina Police Force, it was criticized for being too negative.
In February 2007, the Leader-Post caught the Mayor plagiarising nine quotes from a speech given by Premier Lorne Calvert a year earlier to a volunteer appreciation dinner. Fiacco refused to comment and his aide, Mark Rathwell, brushed off the blunder.[1] The article from the February,23, 2007 Leader Post states, "The shared lines delivered by Fiacco were:
n "Volunteers rarely seek centre stage. The spotlight isn't the driving force behind the hours of tireless work they offer."
n "Volunteers see a need and find a way to meet that need. No matter how large the task, they roll up their sleeves and get the job done."
n "Volunteers are men and women who understand that you may make a living by what you get. But you make a life at what you give."
n "Saskatchewan was built by volunteers. Every city, every town, and every community in Saskatchewan has benefited from Saskatchewan's volunteer spirit."
n "What compels Saskatchewan people to lend a hand whenever and wherever it's needed?"
n "... Fierce independence, determination and pride, mingled with co-operative community spirit."
n "Saskatchewan people have always understood that many hands make labour lighter."
n "The men and women who volunteer their time, talent and energy exemplify the best qualities of our notoriously hard-working and optimistic people."
n "We want the best for our families, for our neighbour's family ..."