Defeated mayoral hopeful was charged with assault, uttered threats
Nathaniel Hewton received 140 votes in Regina’s latest municipal election
On Nov 13, voters headed to the polls have their say in the 2024 Municipal & School Board Election. Official election results were announced by the returning officer for the 2024 Regina Municipal and School Board Election, Jim Nicol, on Thursday, Nov 14, on the city of Regina’s website.
The release announced Chad Bachynski as the city’s new Mayor, along with the elected ward councils for all ten wards, the public-school board trustees, as well as the separate school board trustees. According to the report, 52,949 (about 26 per cent of 204,832 eligible voters) voted in the recent elections. These numbers suggest an increase of approximately 5 per cent in voter turnout compared to the 2020 elections.
The official candidate information guide for the 2024 election, prepared by Elections Regina and publicly available on the city’s website, highlights the eligibility criteria for those interested in running. The qualifications do not take into account a person’s civic and criminal history.
One of the Mayoral Candidates for this election, Nathaniel Hewton, has a history of being on the wrong side of the law.
In an official public release on the Regina Police Service’s website in Feb 2019, Hewton was accused of threatening two teenage females and pointing a firearm at them. The report stated that “a 32-year-old male had threatened two teenage females and pointed a firearm at them. The females exited the house and were not physically harmed” and that following this, “the 32-year-old male was taken into custody… [and] a search warrant was executed on the residence.” This search led to the seizure of two firearms and other prohibited weapons by police.
According to the report, Nathaniel Hewton was charged with unauthorized possession of a prohibited or restricted weapon, pointing firearm, careless storage of a firearm, and unauthorized possession of a firearm. Hewton had to appear in the Provincial Court as a result.
In a CTV News article published Oct 30, it was reported that Southey RCMP received a report of an assault that took place at a residence in Saskatchewan Beach. Further investigation determined that a man had assaulted a woman. The victim had reported non-life-threatening injuries, and the police subsequently charged Hewton with one count of assault. A warrant for Hewton’s arrest was also issued.
In an email response to the Leader Post, Hewton’s campaign manager said that “despite the parties involved believing they had resolved the issue, law enforcement are insisting on pursuing charges” continuing to write that “Nathaniel, and his campaign manager, both believe this is an attempt at derailing his mayoral campaign.”
According to the Leader Post, “the assault charge is not the only one that has been brought against Hewton,” he “also faces a separate charge that – on or about Sept. 29 – he did ‘by verbal speech’ knowingly utter a death threat.”
In his election campaign video on The City of Regina’s election website, Hewton stated that his “negative life experiences” make him “uniquely qualified” to be the next mayor of the city.
“Despite my negative experiences in the city, many of which on the bottom of society have experienced, and yet even the middle class could never fathom, I choose to stay here and make a positive impact, specifically because the resistance to positivity is so strong,” Hewton said. “I am running to insist on an accountable government,” he claimed in the video.
According to results.electionsregina.ca/Mayor, Hewton received 140 votes in the recent election, the least of all candidates.
