Mayor looks forward to year of co-operation
Jorge Barrera
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Jan 05/01) - A stuffed buffalo trophy head hangs in Yellowknife Mayor Gord Van Tighem's living room.
He shot it two years ago near Fort Providence with a Weatherby .340 magnum rifle as it charged his hunting partner.
 Gord Van Tighem |
With a thin smile he tells the tale.
Van Tighem isn't the kind of guy that gets rattled easily. During heated council debates he keeps order with few words, inflecting certain syllables for effect.
It's all about balance for Van Tighem. The Yellowknife mayor sees balance as the key to striking alliances between groups and tackling policy issues.
"I'm very much centre," said Van Tighem explaining his position on the political spectrum.
"I'm left-of-centre on recycling programs but I also encourage finding ways for self-sufficiency which is right- of-centre" said Van Tighem. Van Tighem says that once he did a personality computer test and it came back saying, "you're so down the middle how do you make decisions?"
But when it comes to city politics, indecisive is the one thing he isn't.
He set goals for the city and he's constantly trying to strengthen the municipality's ties with other levels of government to ensure the goals come to life.
"In the last month I've seen relationships with the GNWT, Dene and (the federal government) improve," said Van Tighem.
He says that council and administration are beginning to strike a balance in their relationship.
"I'm starting to see their relationship between council and administration move in a positive direction, they know which side each are coming from," he said.
By 2002 Van Tighem knows where he'd like the city to be. Through the crystal ball of prediction he says City Hall will be seen as an efficient, effective economic model for other communities.
"I want Yellowknife to be seen throughout the NWT as a partner in development rather than competition," he said.
He admits that those goals are going to be tough to achieve but the groundwork has already begun.
"At January's (priorities, policy and budget) committee meeting we're going to have presentations from Trans-Canada Pipeline and DIAND," says Van Tighem who hopes that eventually the city will be embarking on projects with the Yellowknives Dene.
