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Sometime in the near future, the winner of the mayoral race in Saskatoon is going to wonder why he or she even bothered.

Whether Don Atchison, Charlie Clark or Kelley Moore is declared the winner on Wednesday, they will know that two-thirds of Saskatoon voters disagreed with their supporters and, in all likelihood, more than half of us didn’t even bother to turn up to vote.

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Four years ago, a defiant Atchison declared that Saskatoon was united, not divided. I don’t think he was right, then but he may be correct this time. The winner only may get less than 20 per cent of the eligible votes. In that case, most of the city will be united against the winner.

It sends a clear message to the rest of city councillors, who will have little incentive to vote against their self-interest and support someone else’s vision for the city.

Provincially and federally, a leader can govern with a low percentage of the popular vote because the premier or prime minister holds all of the carrots and a lot of sticks. Be loyal to the leader in power and you can sit in cabinet and get good committee posts. Cross the leader and you languish in the backbenches, or perhaps your nomination papers don’t get signed the next time.