Donald James Atchison (born March 1, 1952) is a Canadian politician who was Mayor of Saskatoon, the largest city in the central Canadian province of Saskatchewan, from 2003 to 2016. Atchison was elected mayor four times, tied for the most after mayoral terms were extended beyond one year in 1954. When he lost his bid for a fifth term in 2016, he left office as the longest-serving mayor in the city's history at 13 years. Early life Atchison was born and raised in Saskatoon, where he attended Queen Elizabeth and Holliston Elementary School, Walter Murray Collegiate, and the University of Saskatchewan. He developed an early interest in politics and joined his high school student council in grade 12; running for the position of sports representative, he campaigned by wearing sports equipment to class daily. He was a standout ice hockey goaltender from an early age, and he played junior hockey for the Saskatoon Blades in the 1971–72 season. In 1972, Atchison was drafted by the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins. Although he did not ultimately play in the NHL, Atchison had a brief professional career in the United States before returning to Saskatoon and joining the family business, the men's wear store Atch & Co. He was offered a role in the 1977 hockey film Slap Shot, but turned the opportunity down, thinking it was a joke. Political career Saskatoon city councillor Atchison was first elected to Saskatoon's city council in 1994 as councillor for the newly created Ward 10, and was re-elected in 1997 and acclaimed in 2000. He was well known for his campaigning style of standing on street corners and waving at passing motorists, a tactic that was eventually outlawed. He sought initially to bring a business perspective to city government. In 1996, he infamously brought forward a heavily derided proposal from local consultant Henry Feldkamp to enclose much of downtown Saskatoon in an $80 million, 10-storey climate-controlled glass atrium dubbed the "Atreos." Mayor of Saskatoon Atchison was first elected as mayor on October 22, 2003 in a close four-way contest, unseating incumbent Jim Maddin. He became just the second Saskatoon mayor to have been born in the city. Atchison ran on a platform that included being tough on crime, freezing property taxes, centralizing control of city management, and resuming control of the city's police commission. After his election as mayor, he briefly required citizens visiting the Mayor's office