Saint John council swearing-in Monday, public safety a top concern

Saint John, N.B., Mayor Donna Reardon speaks about the newly-elected council and pressing issues facing the city.

Saint John, N.B., Mayor Donna Reardon says, “it’s great to have the extra term,” after being re-elected in May. She’s the 79th mayor of the historic city but only the fourth to be elected for a second term.

Ten members of Saint John council, including seven new ones, will be sworn-in Monday at 6:30 p.m. Reardon says she’s excited.

“The first thing we’re going to do is to set our priorities for this team and for these four years,” she says to CTV Your Morning Atlantic’s Crystal Garrett.

A key issue on this council’s radar is public safety, a subject she says has been “interesting” over her previous years in-office.

She says she was initially elected in 2021 around a time when protests broke out in response to George Floyd’s death.

“With that as I came on was, ‘Defund the police.’ Now, I’m hearing public safety is a top priority for citizens, so, it can be hard to manage the shifting priorities,” she says.

Council will be weighing some options with the police commission and setting a new public safety mandate. Reardon says they’ve also hired extra security as part of a two-year pilot program.

She says building on her previous term will be beneficial to achieving her goals as mayor, and re-election is an excellent position to be in.

“It’s hard to get your work done over one term, you know? You really need that extra time to get it done and make those catalytic changes, they’re not going to happen in those four years,” says Reardon.

Another topic on the new council’s radar is construction, which the mayor calls a blessing and a curse.

Saint John was established in 1785, and Reardon points out the historic terra cotta sewer lines.

“You can’t build on those things, so all those streets need to be re-built with new infrastructure,” says Reardon.

“We’re looking at transportation on those streets to modernize… so it’s an interesting time,” she says. “Growth is fabulous. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but it needs to happen for survival.”

The City of Saint John swearing-in ceremony will be livestreamed Monday evening.

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