‘Advocate for justice’ enters mayor race

Mark Zielke is hoping his attention to those “who fall through the cracks” will make him the next mayor, but questions about his past court involvements quickly derailed the launch of his campaign Friday.

Zielke, a self-proclaimed “advocate for justice,” is currently appealing a decision from a judge at Court of Queen’s Bench last year ordering him to stop doing legal work without proper licensing.

“Their decision doesn’t impact me at all,” Zielke said.

Speaking to reporters, Zielke confirmed he accepts a nominal fee to represent people “in a myriad of legal situations, and also helps them with good advice.”

Saskatchewan’s Legal Profession Act prohibits anyone without a license from the Law Society of Saskatchewan to provide such services for any fee or reward in matters pertaining to law in the province. Legal Aid Saskatchewan provides legal services for people who would otherwise be unable to afford a lawyer.

“People don’t have to use me as an advocate for justice. What I appreciate is the fact that people come to me as a last resort because lawyers have priced themselves out of the market because Legal Aid can’t take them or won’t take them,” Ziekle said.

Zielke wouldn’t say how much he charges for his services, and he wouldn’t commit to ending his advocacy work if elected as mayor.

His recent past also fanned controversy.

Photos on Twitter show Zielke shaking hands with members of the community without any attention towards mask use or distancing protocols.

I've talked before about my commitment to seeking out those who are bringing environmentally friendly solutions to market.

Peter Voldeng from VDQ-NRG is one of those remarkable entrepreneurs! pic.twitter.com/qc25f1n3Ox

— Mark Zielke (@bizmanYXE) September 10, 2020

“Those people are in my personal bubble. I have a wide group of friends and I meet with them regularly,” he said.

Zielke said he follows all rules and protocols related to COVID-19 and doesn’t see his mask usage or lack of distancing as a campaign issue.

As far as platform points, Zielke said he plans to break up The Lighthouse into five separate locations . He also wants to relocate the downtown bus mall so “the decay happening on 2nd Avenue does not continue.” Alternate locations were not revealed on Friday.

The price tag of the proposed downtown library also drew criticism from Zielke.

“It seems to me that city council has rushed ahead with mega projects at a time when people in businesses are barely surviving in this pandemic,” he said.

Zielke previously ran in the 2016 civic election, coming in third to Hilary Gough and Pat Lorje in Ward 2 with more than eight per cent of the vote.

“I don’t look to the past, I look to the future,” he said, brushing off his unfavourable results in 2016.

“My confidence to run for mayor is predicated upon the fact that our city is right now without leadership.”