Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

NNSL (Feb 22/99) - In the days following Nunavut's first general election, political pundits across the territory-in-waiting -- and across the entire country -- are musing over the choices made by Canada's newest electorate last Monday night.

What follows are some of the political opinions of Jose Kusugak. In his most recent position as Nunavut Tunngavik's president, Kusugak's push towards the formation of Nunavut has spanned the better part of the last three decades.

Akulliq (Pelly Bay, Repulse Bay)
Ovide Alakannuark	219
Steve Mapsalak	194

I think that people of Repulse Bay were pleasantly surprised with Ovide Alakannuark's presentation.

Steven Mapsalak had been involved with the Keewatin politics, but more on the economic development side. He was there more or less as a figurehead, so to speak, rather than being actively involved.

Ovide had been quite involved with the central region more on the west side of Repulse Bay, but I think the people of Repulse Bay were ready for a change.

Amittuq (Hall Beach, Igloolik)
Enoki Irqittuq	251
Mark Evaloarjuk	210
Solomon Allurut	128
Cain Iqqaqsaq	101
Joanna Oolateeta	70

Enoki Irqittuq is an individual thinker. He has impressed me. He's been involved with the Baffin region Inuit organization for a number of years. It's not necessarily for NTI or anybody, but when he is representing the people, when he feels he has to vote, he doesn't necessarily toe the party line. I think that's what really impressed the people.

Arviat (Arviat)
Kevin O'Brien	474
Kono Tattuinee	284

I didn't get an opportunity to talk to Kevin O'Brien, but I know that Kono Tattuinee was more going against his opponent than talking about issues, unfortunately. Kono Tattuinee is not a fighter of cause and he projects himself as a youth. You can only go so far with that kind of a commitment, saying, "I'm a youth" or saying, "I'm against this guy." You have to talk about real issues and he was not willing to do that. After a while, sometime into the campaign, people tried to bounce stuff off him and he had no answers. I think that's why the numbers are as overwhelming as they are.

Baker Lake (Baker Lake)
Glenn McLean	466
Patrick Tagoona	191
David Toolooktook Sr.	76

We had so many calls from there. Some of the members of the Keewatin Inuit Association, the vice-president was campaigning for Glenn McLean.

Baker Lake has traditionally been run by the Qallunaaq group there. It's just been like that in history so it's not surprising in the end. I didn't think he would get in with that much of a number.

I hope Patrick Tagoona picks himself up and dusts himself off and tries again down the road.

Cambridge Bay (Bathurst Inlet, Cambridge Bay, Umingmaktok)
Kelvin Ng	332
Mike O'Gorman	164
Wilfred Wilcox	108
Beatrice Bernhardt	68

I would have been surprised to see Kelvin come out so strong if his campaign manager had not been Bill Lyall. He has a very big influence in that region with the background of the co-ops, as the president of the co-op federation.

The surprise was Mike O'Gorman and it might just be because he had Fred, the big business man from Cam Bay, supporting him.

Many, many people thought Wilf Wilcox would have been right up there and even run that race.

I would say that Kelvin Ng had that support and I think it was a matter of owing him that favour. He really had big guns for support.

Hudson Bay (Sanikiluaq)
Peter Kattuk	165
Moses Appaqaq Jr.	106

It could have gone either way. In my opinion, Moses Appaqaq has done a very reasonable job for that community and he gives the Baffin Inuit politics community lots of support.

Peter Kattuk has been a long-time mayor of Sanikiluaq.

I wouldn't know how to judge that race.

Iqaluit Centre (Iqaluit)
Hunter Akat Tootoo	261
Lynda Gunn	96
Johnny Nowdlak	64
Bill Strickland	55

Hunter, being a new person in Iqaluit, has been a very active person. No matter what community he goes into, he's a very active individual, again with the co-ops, sports, curling. He's more on the socialist side and he's involved a lot in everything. In that way he's very presentable.

He did a lot of door-to-door, he took advice from people on how to do his campaign. He doesn't rub anybody the wrong way. He has no baggage that he's carrying. I think he did all the right things and I think he will do very well for Iqaluit Centre and Iqaluit in general. If I was him, I would feel totally ecstatic because I would see that as a welcome to Iqaluit.

Iqaluit East (Iqaluit)
Edward Picco	416
Natsiq Kango	168

I am a bit surprised (that Natsiq didn't get more votes).

At the same time, if you're going to run against Edward Picco, you would have to run against him for the things he didn't do right as the member of legislative assembly and I don't think that list would be too long. During his campaign, he came to see us and he went to see a number of businesses. It's a matter of somebody having to prove themselves beyond Edward to do well against him. He's made of the right stuff and trying very hard to speak the language to people.

Iqaluit West (Iqaluit)
Paul Okalik	334
Ben S.Ell	166
Matthew Spence	160

Paul Okalik is a sign of the times. People are celebrating with him in becoming a lawyer and he has a real place in history. The numbers really show there, a right move.

Ben Ell was going on his record and people know he does his homework. All the stuff he's given to read on council, he does his homework. He's good at that and provides good direction in his community.

Paul Okalik had the background with land claims, being young, having stamina. People were possibly looking at him as a future premier, if not the next one, then down the road. That's what I was looking at.

Although, we have a respected elder in there. I didn't envy the people who had to make that kind of a decision in Iqaluit.

Kugluktuk (Kugluktuk)
Donald Havioyak	200
Ida Ayalik-McWilliam	194
Stanley K. Anablak	125
Kevin Bryce Niptanatiak	50

(Because of the close vote in Kugluktuk, the ballots will be recounted. As of press timethe results of that recount were not available.)

Nanulik (Coral Harbour)

James Arvaluk 156

Johnny Ningeongan 125

Amauyak Netser 98

Noel Kaludjak 71

Anthyme Kadjuk 52

In Coral, you have two members that are splitting up votes quite incredibly. You have (James Arvaluk) who had moved there recently but at the same time, had quite a lot of problems and without really asking, has he overcome those problems and given himself enough opportunity for a complete recovery? That shows there was a lot of unnecessary split just because voters refused to take their names off in support of other candidates. It's nothing against James Arvaluk.

Nattilik (Taloyoak, Gjoa Haven)
Uriash Puqiqnak	179
Joseph W. Aglukkaq	161
Charlie Cahill	149
Steve Alookee	83
Wally Mimurana Porter	65
Anthony Anguttitauraq	57

It was interesting to see it go back and forth between Joseph Aglukkaq and Uriash Puqiqnak.

It was such a close race and I think that could have gone either way. Joseph Aglukkaq has a real strong family.

Uriash Puqiqnak has the necessary community representation because he was the mayor of Gjoa Haven for a number of years and very involved with the local politics in that area. He will do well. He is a credit to the Central Arctic area and it's nice to see him in. Not to take anything away from the others.

It's surprising that Taloyoak didn't do well having only one person running. I thought they would have put their person in.

Pangnirtung (Pangnirtung)
Peter Kilabuk	171
Simeonie Keenainak	119
Meeka Kilabuk	83
Sakiasie Sowdlooapik	80
Thomasie Alikatuktuk	53
Jaypetee Qappik	50

People thought that Meeka and Peter would have split more of the votes. For those people who didn't know how to vote between Peter and Meeka, I thought they would end up voting for someone like Simeonie. I was actually expecting to see Simeonie Keenainak pull ahead.

But Peter Kilabuk has been very involved in the fisheries in that community. He's quite charismatic, he's young, he's got the stamina and so on. It's going to be a real learning for him because he is new to any kind of politics and it's going to be interesting to watch him.

Quttiktuq (Grise Fiord, Resolute Bay, Arctic Bay, Nanisivik)
Levi Barnabas	154
Larry Audlaluk	100
Elizabeth Roberts	71
Daniel Aola	62
Liza Ningiuk	29
Leah Kalluk	23

I look at Levi getting in and say obviously, people are saying that Yellowknife doesn't mean anything. This is a whole new ball game in this area. When he was saying on the air during his campaign that all Yellowknife was for (him) was a training ground. He knew how to do this now and people believed that.

At the same time, there were too many people from the other communities who split the vote. That's what I mean by lesson two in Nunavut politics is to make sure that you're going to be splitting votes if you're not willing to talk to each other and pull your name out.

I say lesson two because, in my opinion, it really hasn't been learned. People are still suggesting that at any cost, you don't argue with each other. People are voting for the nicest guy instead of someone willing to fight for the people and I'm against that.

Rankin Inlet North (Rankin Inlet)
Jack Anawak	146
Louie Pilakapsi	133
Lorne Quasa Kusugak	119

I was looking at Lorne Kusugak being against Louis Pilakapsi and Jack Anawak. There was no chance of winning Rankin Inlet North because Jack Anawak was going to get in anyway. I wouldn't count Lorne Kusugak out down the road. It was a real rough introduction to politics for him.

Louie Pilakapsi has an open chequebook policy background so people still have that real Mr. Nice Guy title. That's why they would elect those kind of people.

For all the things that happened in Rankin Inlet in the weeks leading up to the election, it was necessarily a good picture. No matter how you look at it, the unfortunate things had a role to play in the voting day.

Rankin Inlet South-Whale Cove (Rankin Inlet, Whale Cove)
Manitok C. Thompson	191
Levinia Brown	178
Harry Towtongie	145

That was a surprise for me because Levinia Brown, although she's been very visible in Rankin Inlet, she's brand new into that arena.

I thought if Harry didn't win, he would at least have come in second. I don't know why Harry didn't get the number I thought he would have.

At the same time, Manitok is one of those people who wouldn't have gotten elected by politicians if it was just a general election for the politicians. I think the people who are in Whale Cove and Rankin South, who did not necessarily know the real background and what kind of involvement she had, wouldn't know that she wasn't able to deliver. If I was from Rankin South I would have asked that question. Sure (she) brought it up to the table but (she) wasn't able to sell it. The questioning didn't get that far. That's why she trickled in by 13 votes.

South Baffin (Cape Dorset, Kimmirut)
Olayuk Akesuk	368
Goo Arlooktoo	232
Matthew Saveakjuk	92

I think most people, when they saw the results from the Cape Dorset-Kimmirut riding, it was a shock because Goo had a pretty incredible team. Jimmy Manning was his campaign manager. He's a big guy at the co-op and there was big support for arts.

As an afterthought, when you knew that the people of Cape Dorset were suggesting that after many, many years of having another community represent them, they were determined to have a local representative and this was an appropriate time. I don't think it was anything against Goo Arlooktoo. People were going to have a local representative one way or the other and that was where the buffer was in the shock.

I think it was the case of the people in Cape Dorset wanting their own representative and I think we're reading into it too much to suggest that. Sure, for some people that would have something to do with what he was doing with the territorial government, but that was a very minor part. I think it was the voters deciding to have their own.

Tunnuniq (Pond Inlet)
Jobie Nutarak	223
Caleb Sangoya	94
Sam Omik	81
Elijah Erkloo	42
Leo Mucktar	29

From the people I talked to when Jobie put his name in, they told me Jobie was an obvious choice in Pond Inlet.

Everybody else had quite the baggage to carry -- Caleb Sangoya with his constant fights with everybody else around him, sometimes from both sides of his mouth.

Sam Omik, I think he needs to give himself time to heal before he tries to go for the big-time kind of politics.

Elijah Erkloo, I thought his numbers would have been a little higher and I don't know why only 42 people would have voted for him.

I don't know Leo Mucktar, but apparently they do in Pond Inlet.

Jobie Nutarak seemed to be the obvious guy in that community. He's been very involved in education, he did very well with the Nunavut Planning Commission and he's quite visible and very approachable.

Uqqummiut (Clyde River, Qikiqtarjuaq)
David Iqaqrialu	232
Tommy Enuaraq	187
Pauloosie Paniloo	123

Why didn't they run somebody in Broughton (Island)? You think that anybody who ran would have gotten in. I don't know why. Somebody was obviously waiting for other people to (run). Something didn't click and people should take that little lesson to the next election.

David Iqaqrialu is not a surprise. Tommy Enuaraq never really delivered while he was in Yellowknife. Yellowknife was just like a lonely gust of wind behind him. In his campaign, he didn't speak out like Levi Barnabas, to say, forget Yellowknife, we're in a different ball game here.

David is quite an orator at meetings and it's nice to see someone who has been in nitty gritty kinds of politics all these years, getting in there. He's going to be a little fire.