Richard Gleeson
Northern News Services

NNSL (Nov 06/98) - So, you think you've got too many bosses? Robert Slaven has more than 17,000.

A survivor of the job application process known as an election campaign, Slaven is one of five rookies on Yellowknife city council.

In the October 1997 election, Slaven collected 1,819 votes, second only to Dave Ramsay among the 18 people looking for a seat on council.

The 35-year-old father of four young girls and two teenage boys said his day job helped him know what he was getting into when he threw his hat into the ring for city council.

"I'd say being involved in politics before I ran, working at the assembly as a staffer, that experience helped me know what I was getting into."

Slaven has been working with the territorial government since 1985. He is currently manager of student records for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment.

He said his day job helps him understand the perspective of city hall staff. He was already aware of the truth in the old maxim you can't please all the people, all the time.

"A lot of times the decisions you make are going to upset somebody. It's not like school, where questions have one right answer."

For the most part, residents have realistic expectations of what city hall can and can't do, said Slaven. But, the current council has to deal with a little more flack than those running the city during better times.

When residents personally feel the pinch of the kind of economic downturn the city is currently riding out, they tend to be more critical of their politicians, said Slaven.

"I think it's getting better, though. The big issue last election was communication and this council has spent a lot of time working on that."

A minor hockey referee, bass player (he played his first gig last weekend) and volunteer with his church, Slaven estimates he spends about six hours a week in meetings, on top of the time he spends at home preparing for those meetings.

"What spare time I had is gone and it's not like I had a whole lot before," he admits, adding, "It's a good kind of busy, though. I can't complain, you feel like your part of something important."

Politics, he noted, is something that runs in his family -- his grandfather was mayor of Sydney, N.S., for a large part of the 1930s and '40s.

"Government has the potential to make a big difference, but democracy only works as much as voters pay attention," said Slaven.