Richard Gleeson
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Jan 19/00) - Tony Whitford's biggest rap was that he's too nice a guy for the sometimes dirty world of politics.

Whitford was a cabinet minister in the tempestuous 12th legislative assembly, but resigned his post after a little more than a year, citing the pressures and political infighting involved in serving on the executive council.

On Monday, after being elected Speaker of the 14th Assembly, he promised being nice will not be a problem when it comes to keeping order in the house.

"I'm up to the task," he said. "It will certainly be a pleasant challenge."

Whitford said it was as recent as the start of last week that MLAs started encouraging him to run for Speaker.

"It wasn't something that had been long in the planning," said Whitford.

"The biggest thing was other people wanted to find out who would be the right person for the job.

"The members of this assembly wanted the right people for the various jobs, the people they felt could do the best job, including the chairs of the committees.

Whitford's election effectively softens the transition to an assembly with three more Yellowknife MLAs. As Speaker he does not vote on motions or bills, except to break a tie.

"I've always enjoyed the protocol and wanted to make sure our legislative assembly is ranked high among the assemblies in Canada," said Whitford.

In addition to keeping order during sessions, the Speaker is the official head of the legislative assembly and responsible for the daily administration of the legislative building.