Paul Bickford
Northern News Services
Published Monday, September 3, 2007

ENTERPRISE - Three people are vying to become mayor of Enterprise, when the community switches its political status from a settlement to a hamlet next month.

The mayoral candidates in the Oct. 1 election are plumbing contractor Allan Flamand, pilot car operator John (Trapper) Kuiper and professional chef John Leskiw II.

This will be the first time that Enterprise will hold a separate election for a mayor. As a settlement, the community elected only councillors and they chose a mayor from among themselves.

The current mayor is Dave Richards.

Eight people were acclaimed to the eight-member council when nominations closed Aug. 27, including the three men running for mayor.

The others are Winnie Cadieux, Don Ironside, Anne Leskiw, Karl Mueller and Michael St. Amour.

Scotty Edgerton, the senior administrative officer for Enterprise, explained that, under the hamlet system, a person can run for both positions.

"They can run for mayor and they can also put their names forward for council," Edgerton said.

After the Oct. 1 election, the new mayor will resign as a councillor, leaving seven members on council.

Edgerton said the community is seeking guidance from the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs on whether it will then need to hold a by-election to fill the last seat on council or whether a member can be appointed.

Enterprise will officially become a hamlet on Oct. 29 with the same boundaries as the current settlement.

As a hamlet, it will own the municipal infrastructure currently owned by the GNWT.

It will also gain new responsibilities, including the power to pass bylaws, the ability to acquire and dispose of property, and authority over capital programs and infrastructure.

Enterprise, located 38 km south of Hay River, is a community of approximately 90 people.