The Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association has a new president.

On Twitter, SUMA announced Yorkton City Councilor Randy Goulden as the new head of the organization.

The vote took place at the annual SUMA convention in Regina today (Tues).

Goulden, who was the interim president prior to today’s outcome, is excited to start working as president after members put their confidence in her.

“Doesn’t matter if you were a small municipality, a large municipality, they put confidence in me to work with the Board of Directors and lead the organization as we move into the next 3 years.” Goulden said.

Goulden has served as SUMA’s East Central Regional Director for almost 20 years.

The other candidate vying for the presidency was Shaunavon Mayor Kyle Bennett.

A new president was needed after Rodger Hayward stepped down in February, due to a job promotion.

There isn’t much time for celebration, as Goulden explained there are several priorities to advocate for, such as mental health & addictions.

“Now usually health issues are not a responsibility of the municipalities, but more and more we’re seeing some of the tragedies that are happening in our community,” she said. “We put that (mental health & addictions) as a pillar and we’ve already been advocating for more resources to make our communities safe for people that are suffering from mental health issues or addictions.”