An emotional address with family by his side will mark the end of the Pat Fiacco era at Regina's City Hall.

“I’ve had the honour of the people’s confidence as mayor for four terms. It’s a responsibility I’ve tried to carry with dignity, honour, respect and humility,” said Fiacco at the Ramada Hotel Tuesday morning.

The mayor made a tearful address -- revealing that he will not run again this fall.
“Since I was first elected I have woken up every day excited to go to work. My passion for the job has never wavered but there comes a time when you hold elected office that it is time to move on,” he said.

He will leave as the city's longest-serving mayor after 12 years and four terms in office – a fact that isn't lost on him.

“Because it’s time. When I initially ran, Councillor Clipsham reminded me that, ‘I thought you were only going to do this for two terms’ and here we are – four terms,” Fiacco said after his announcement.

On the timing of the announcement, Fiacco explained that he wanted to make sure the news was out early enough so that others interested in running have time to put a proper campaign together.

He also stressed the need for the next mayor to keep the city's economic and development momentum going. He insisted that he is not worried about the fate of the high profile work like the downtown revitalization project and the stadium that will go along with it.

"We are one of the fastest growing cities in the country. We've got some great economic momentum, we are on the right track and we have to make sure that we stay on the right track. I want whoever is thinking of taking a run for this job to recognize that," Fiacco commented.

Fiacco will not comment on his possible contenders except to say that he is concerned about the city reversing it's growth in the wrong hands.

He knows that many people expected him to stay in office to finish the $1 billion Regina Revitalization Project but that just won't happen.

"They want me to cut the ribbon, that's what they think - on a new stadium. Of course that will happen in 2016, it just won't be me cutting the ribbon," Fiacco said.

Fiacco admitted that he is tired of life in the public eye. He lost time with his family while performing the duties of the job -- citing it as his one regret as mayor. He insists he has no immediate plans for the future but he's looking forward to spending more time with his kids and granddaughter.

Premier Brad Wall reacts to news

Premier Brad Wall was just as shocked as a lot of other Saskatchewan residents when he heard the news that Fiacco will not run for another term as mayor.

“I think everyone is a little surprised and we have lost a very strong leader in the province today,” Wall said.

The premier noted that Fiacco will leave Regina a better place than when he started as mayor.

“It’s the best possible place it could be for others to invest in, attract new citizens to the city to improve quality of life for the citizens that are there,” Wall listed some of Fiacco’s accomplishments.
 
He added that the mayor has played a huge role in the growth of the province. He said he has always had a great relationship with Fiacco, noting that he will be missed as a leader across the province.

“Pat has led provincially on a number of issues including the importance of revenue sharing which our government was able to respond to and more recently on the issue of long-term infrastructure planning which we are working on,” Wall said.

Wall added that Fiacco will be remembered for a lot of the highway work around Regina.

Candidates for mayor of Regina also surprised

Fiacco still has a full eight months on the job, but who will be the next Mayor of Regina?

So far there are only two men who have officially declared that they will run for mayor in the October election. Both Jim Elliot and David Robert Loblaw were surprised to hear the announcement on Tuesday morning.

“I am very surprised that he is not running again, but more than that I am so honoured that he did it this early,” Loblaw commented.

Loblaw is running a campaign with the goal of increasing voter participation in municipal elections. He hopes that a fresh slate of candidates will renew interest in the race.

“Lots of publicity and hopefully much bigger voter turn-out,” he described some of his goals.

Elliot, who ran for mayor in the last municipal election, said he believes in taking a completely different direction on housing and Mosaic stadium.

Both men said they won't be surprised if another hopeful throws their hat into the race as well.

Edited by News Talk Radio's Sabeen Ahmad and Adriana Christianson