Inuvik (July 18/03) - The Gwich'in voters sent a clear message to Fred Carmichael that they want him to stay the course as their president.

Every vote counts President Fred Carmichael 747 votes Willard Hagen 289 votes James Robert 34 votes Vice President Mary Ann Ross 420 votes Lawrence Norbert 320 votes William R. Koe 250 votes Donald Andre 95 votes

Capturing about 70 per cent of the vote, Carmichael was happy with the win, but was quite confident throughout the election that he would win a decisive victory over the two other candidates.

"I figured it would come pretty easy," Carmichael said. "I was hoping for a good, solid majority, to get a good, clear mandate from the people."

There will always be a few dissenters, he said, but he'll spend this term trying to satisfy them too.

"My challenge is to see how I can satisfy that other 30 per cent," he said. "It's not always possible to be 100 per cent, but we always try to work towards finding out what are the concerns and issues."

He maintains an open-door policy and feels a bit pulled at times by the responsibilities of his post.

"I try not to turn people away and sometimes that can be a little awkward, because people do have appointments," he said. He notes recent victories for the Gwich'in in property acquisitions and a balance sheet that has black on the bottom line.

"This was the very first time that beneficiaries got a payout," he said, adding that each community was given $500,000 for improvements, $2 million was spent on education and $1 million for language and culture.

In the future he sees the team of the board of directors, and the tribal council working hard to fulfill the wishes of the people.

"The secret to success is listening to the people and to surround yourself with a good team of people," Carmichael said.

One of those people is Mary Ann Ross, who has worked as Carmichael's executive assistant, and will now work with him as the vice-president, following her win in Monday's election.

Ross has spent the past year working for the GTC. She's been Carmichael's executive assistant since January 2003.

"I wanted to make a difference. Women haven't been all that involved in the GTC. I felt we needed a woman in this position," she said Tuesday morning.

This was the first election she's been voted in for. Ross also achieved an acclaimed position on Inuvik's District Education Authority board.

"I couldn't sleep until 4:30 this morning. My mind was racing. I was thinking of all the people I wanted to thank."

She said her volunteer experiences and those as the executive assistant will help her in her new position.

"We haven't had a vice president for some time so being the executive assistant to Fred (Carmichael) I've had to deal with many of the issues in the communities."

Ross will continue as Carmichael's executive assistant for another week before moving over into her new position.

Hagen stepping out of politics

Carmichael's chief contender, Willard Hagen, says his political future stops here, for now.

Hagen, a past Gwich'in Tribal Council president, earned 289 votes in the July 14 election.

"Life goes on the same as yesterday," said Hagen, the morning after the election.

"Nothing changes for me, I just won't be as busy."

His biggest concern is for the smaller communities and he hopes Carmichael will put his efforts into their needs.

"It's obvious there should be change. They (the GTC) needs to put more time and money into infrastructure in each community."

Hagen, who continues to chair the Gwich'in land and water board, has no future political plans. He served as the GTC president between 1990 and 1996.