Amanda Vaughan
Northern News Services
Published Monday, September 24, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - From families living on suburban cul-de-sacs, to auto wreckers to a veterinary hospital and artist studios, Kam Lake riding is a diverse slice of Yellowknife.

"The industrial park is the defining neighborhood of the riding," said incumbent Dave Ramsay. Ramsay is seeking a second term as Kam Lake MLA.

"It was a really good four years. I feel like I brought something to the government that the people put me there to do, which was ask questions, and raise concerns on behalf of my constituents," Ramsay said.

Challenger Brad Enge has never run for a public office in the territory, but the 51-year-old lawyer did run as a federal Liberal Candidate in the Edmonton-Spruce Grove riding in 2006.

In 1970-71, Enge was a page in the NWT legislative assembly when it was held in the Elk's Club, and has since worked in construction, sales, and spent 22 years as an RCMP officer around Alberta and the North.

His career as a lawyer includes running the Indigenous Law program at the University of Alberta and the NWT's legal aid program.

Enge also has an extensive volunteer background. His motivation to run came from the desire to get involved in the decision making that affects all of the territory's citizens.

Ramsay served as a Yellowknife city councillor for two terms, between 1997 and 2003, and chaired the Corporate Services Committee for one term.

The 37-year-old small business owner also has an active volunteer interest, having been involved in such organizations as the Heart and Stroke Foundation, NWT Crime Stoppers, the Rotary Club among others.

In the 2003 election, 66.9 per cent of Kam Lake's 1,122 registered voters cast ballots.

Many of the ridings in the territory have wildly varying voter turnouts, which could be attributed to the transient nature of the NWT population.

Enge's platform issues are encapsulated in his campaign slogan, "Let the F.E.R. fly!", with F.E.R. standing for family, education and resources.

Ramsay said one his personal focuses in government is fiscal responsibility. He said he would like to see a "zero based budgeting" system in place, which would require all the spending that the government does to be justified by the departments.

He has also pushed for an access road to be built from the Kam Lake industrial park to Highway 3, something he said will definitely be moving ahead in the near future.