Yellowknife (May 05/04) - With the federal Liberals hurting from the sponsorship scandal, the time could right for a changing of the guard in the Western Arctic, said NDP candidate Dennis Bevington.

"The scandal is symptomatic of rot that has crept in with three consecutive majority governments," Bevington said last Wednesday.

"I think some of the voters have become disillusioned... and our party represents a new voice."

A recent Ipsos-Reid poll, commissioned by the Globe and Mail and CTV, showed support for the Liberals hovering around 40 per cent. That marks a significant improvement for the party, which saw its popularity drop dramatically after a report by the auditor general revealed Liberal-friendly advertising firms were paid millions of dollars for little or no work.

The 51-year-old Bevington, who lives in Fort Smith, was named the party's candidate following a tele-conference last week.

It's the second time Bevington has been tabbed to run for the NDP in the Western Arctic. During the 2000 federal election, his party captured 27 per cent of the vote, well behind the Liberal's 47 percent. Bevington thinks the sponsorship scandal along with Ottawa's position on gun control and resource development could be enough to sway 10 per cent of Northerners towards the NDP.

With the federal election expected to be called by mid to late summer, Bevington said he is in "full campaign mode."

His party is trying to raise more than the $30,000 they did in 2000, but Bevington admits it will nearly impossible to compete with the Liberal fundraising machine.

"We're concentrating on getting our message out to all NWT residents," said Bevington.

Getting that message out in a riding like the Western Arctic isn't easy, said Bevington.

"The size of the (riding) and distance between communities makes things more challenging," he said.