Walking with Saskatoon's next mayor: a 2020 doorknocking diary

Don Atchison says the best part of campaigning for political office — "if you're a people person" — is meeting other people.

But how do you do that in the age of COVID-19? And what issues are people bringing up on the doorstep during this pandemic?

That's what I sought to find out as I accompanied Atchison and two other contenders in the 2020 Saskatoon mayoral race — Charlie Clark and Rob Norris — for a round of doorknocking.

Here's what I saw and heard. 

Rob Norris 

Doorknocking date: Thursday Oct. 29

Location: Lawson Heights

Ward: 5

Approximate start time: 2:34 p.m.

When I arrive, Norris is wrapping up a conversation with a woman whose daughter recently lost her job. 

Norris is wearing dress pants, a blue hoodie, long jacket and basic running shoes. He's also wearing a campaign mask with his face on it — one of 100 masks gifted to him by a businessman. He stands a good distance away from everyone he talks with.

Over the next hour, the former Sask. Party MLA meets with, among others: a high school student with dreams of studying at Oxford University; a new homeowner; a golf course worker who's followed Norris' career; an Arizona snowbird who complains there are too many school zones in the neighbourhood; a Charlie Clark sign bearer who jokes about siccing his dog on Norris; and a one-time classmate of former Premier Brad Wall, who endorsed Norris for mayor back in July.     

Norris, whose team typically tries to hit 700 homes per canvassing session, follows a consistent routine: he puts a flyer in the mailbox, knocks on the door and walks back 10 to 12 steps, waiting for an answer at the door. He tweaks his approach based on the cues given off by each resident, he says.   

"My sense is, and we've seen it a few times, the doors don't open quite as wide as they would during usual times," he says

Just an hour before, Saskatchewan health officials announced 82 new cases of COVID-19, the largest daily bump the province had seen up to that time. 

When another new homeowner, David Reichert, warmly greets Norris and asks him to come inside his house, Norris politely declines.

"I don't think I can with COVID," Norris says.

'Let's not get into a spitting thing' 

Norris' icebreaker with people is often affordability. Specifically, property taxes. 

"A lot of working families are under just a little bit of pressure right now. Property taxes are going up with Charlie Clark," he tells one resident.

Norris has called the plan for a new, "gold-plated," $134.5-million downtown library the ballot question of the election. He wants the current plan halted and reexamined, even as it remains unclear whether he can do that. 

The library subject first comes up about 20 minutes into Norris' doorknocking session. He's the one who raises it with retiree Wendy Driedger, after she says she'd like some projects, including a potential new downtown arena, to "just slow down a little bit."

"I'm in favour of libraries, but I can't look you in the eye and say Halifax, Guelph and Kitchener have built brand new libraries for between $50 million and $70 million and we're up over $134 million," Norris says.

"We have to be careful with that library, though," Driedger replies. "There could be legal litigation. Contracts have been signed. Let's not get into a spitting thing." 

Later on, Norris hits political paydirt.

"I'm really glad to hear that the library is not going to be $134 million. That kind of makes my day," Stephanie Stupak tells Norris. "When I rent books, it's all through my e-reader. I'm not really going in."

Norris stresses that he loves libraries, but in this case, "we just have to live within our means."

Support for the Saskatoon Police Service comes up at another point in Norris' travels, with Ryan Lipka.

"It's a tough day to be a police officer," Lipka says during a conversation about perceptions of downtown safety.

"That's why I'm standing shoulder to shoulder with them," Norris cuts in. "I'm not going to be a fair weather friend." 

Charlie Clark 

Doorknocking date: Tuesday, Nov. 3

Neighbourhood: Confederation Park 

Ward: 3

Approximate start time: 4:47 p.m.

The first person Clark encounters on his doorknocking session is Carol Leavitt, the mother of a Saskatoon police officer. Clark makes his position clear, as he already has on the campaign trail. 

"I do not support defunding of the police," Clark says. "They have a very tough role and their role has gotten more difficult in the last few years."

"They're a social worker, they're a mental health worker and they're a police officer," Leavitt says. "There's not enough funding to fight the drugs that are in the city."

Tackling the root issues of crime "has been a priority for me," Clark says. "When I first got elected, I think the police weren't sure what my approach would be and I've built a strong relationship ... to make sure that I know their reality. 

"I see the job as a mayor as making sure everybody's treating everybody as a human being."

All told, Clark spends seven minutes speaking with Leavitt. 

"I'm not really good at moving fast," he says before his next house. "I'm interested. I like to ask questions."

'I won't waste your time'

Clark is wearing jeans, a light jacket and a poppie. His COVID-19 doorknocking etiquette is identical to Norris', but their conversational approaches aren't the same. 

The first thing Clark asks nearly everyone he talks to is how they are doing or coping during the pandemic. 

Rod Pacik tells Clark he was recently "laid off because of COVID." Pacik is married to a woman who works at the downtown Lighthouse shelter for vulnerable people.

"She's on the front lines," Clark says. 

It's only several days after health officials announced an outbreak of the virus at the shelter. The Lighthouse has been a lightning rod during the election, with many mayoral candidates saying services at the shelter need to improve.   

"Can I count on your support?" Clark asks Pacik. 

"Yes you can," Pacik replies, adding, "If you move forward helping the Lighthouse."

Over the course of the hour, Clark meets with a floor layer who's kept his job amid the pandemic; a volunteer for his successful 2016 mayoral bid; a woman whose COVID-era anxiety prompts Clark to ask about her support system; a woman who wants to know whether Clark will get along with her favoured candidate in the ward, David Kirton; and a work-from-home Saskatchewan Health Authority employee concerned about the maintenance of back alleys. 

Not everyone is up for a talk. 

"I'm not interested in politics," one man says. 

"I won't waste your time, then," Clark says in a tone that manages to be both cheery and purposeful.

Clark is in an area of potentially undecided voters. He's tracking his interactions using the Ecanvasser political campaign app and informing people about the most convenient advance polling location. This is even before the city warns people two days later of a possible snow dump on the weekend before the election. 

As the sky darkens, Clark meets two more front-line workers: Kyle and Bailey Males — a teacher and nurse, respectively. 

"On one hand, we're thankful for job security," Kyle says. "On the flip side, what we do here greatly impacts our jobs because of our interaction with others."

Kyle asks if Clark was surprised to see the new library become a focal point of the campaign season.

"Yeah," Clark says in a way that makes Kyle and Bailey laugh. "Surprised and frustrated."

Don Atchison 

Doorknocking date: Wednesday, Nov. 4

Neighbourhood: Hampton Village

Ward: 4

Approximate start time: 4:30 p.m.

I'll be honest: I don't get to spend as much time with Atchison because I'm late, he doesn't like to canvass after dark ("with COVID, people are much more cautious about answering") and he has somewhere to be shortly. 

But I see enough: one resident positively beams at the surprise sight of the former longtime mayor. 

"What are you doing here?" asks bank worker Christine Gosselin.

"Asking for your vote on Election Day," Atchison says. 

"Oh my god, you've got it, man," she replies, before asking to take a socially-distanced selfie from her porch. 

Nobody did that for Norris or Clark.

"So what made you decide to run again?" Gosselin asks Atchison. 

"When I lost the last election, we got rid of all our signs. I wasn't going to be like the other ones where they come to [city] council all the time, nipping at your heels. I just stood out of the way."

Now he's speaking up, though.

"I just don't like what I see and I don't like where we have gone in the last four years," he says. 

One of his volunteers, Sadik Rahman, says the team quickly blew through 20 signs tonight. 

"People are welcoming him," Rahman says, "because of his experience and he has lots of connections." 

Atchison admits he started doorknocking late in his campaign because he was unsure how he could do it safely in a pandemic. 

"When you're a politician, you're out knocking lots of doors," he says. 

'No touching' 

Unlike his opponents, Atchison doesn't appear issues-focused at the doorstep. He simply asks people for their support and their permission to put up a sign. Most immediately say yes on both accounts. 

"I gotta hustle here," he says between visits, admitting to having one bad leg. (He is limping slightly, wearing a pair of weathered loafers, fuzzy sweater and a Canada Goose parka.) 

When someone's not home, Atchison takes a brochure and writes "Sorry I missed you" before leaving it in the mailbox. 

I note how brisk most of his visits are and ask what issues people have been raising. 

"It depends where you are," he says. "For example, in older [neighbourhoods like Pleasant Hill and Riversdale], crime is number one. They're just in survival mode."  

Atchison is then interrupted by a driver who rides by and yells, "Go get 'em, Don!"

"People actually stop and will get out of their doors for a sign," Atchison says. 

After his visit and distanced selfie with Gosselin, Atchison goes to the next house and says he's going in there for tea, though only for 10 minutes. 

The day before, Saskatchewan's chief medical health officer announced the maximum number of people allowed to gather in private residences was being reduced to 10 from 15.

Given that, and Atchison's planned visit tonight, I ask him how he's navigating the rules when people ask him to go inside their homes. 

"It's really difficult, because when they ask you to come in for a minute, how do you say no?" he says. "They're opening their home to you. You say, 'I can't stay long. I'll have a glass of water.' I've been drinking a lot of water lately."

The next day, Atchison confirms the businessman whose home he visited is not in his bubble but says "all protocols were kept in place."

"I sat in the living room and his son and he sat in the dining room. No touching. Even my drink, not tea or coffee, was put on a tray so there would be no contact."

Atchison says he kept his mask on, except to sip from his drink.

(Saskatoon mayoral candidate shoe challenge answers: LEFT Don Atchison MIDDLE Charlie Clark RIGHT Rob Norris)