SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Having started in the game late, Bob Bromley will celebrate his 65th birthday on the last day of his final term as Weledeh MLA.

Weledeh MLA Bob Bromley has declared he will not run again in the fall election. - Shane Magee/NNSL photo

With a fall election upcoming, Bromley told Yellowknifer he will not run again.

"I'm very honoured to have been receiving many requests to run again, so I wanted to give that due consideration," said Bromley. "It's an absolute privilege to serve the people of the Weledeh riding and the people of the Northwest Territories, so it's not a light decision."

Having held the job since 2007, Bromley said it's been a busy time and there is still more he'd like to do.

"My wife has been very tolerant, now it's time to respect that," Bromley said with a laugh.

Several names have come forward to take Bromley's place in the Old Town riding set to be divided among the Tu Nede and Yellowknife North ridings.

"I think it's always good for voters to have a choice and I don't doubt there will be some outstanding people," Bromley said.

But he's not done yet.

With the 17th Legislative Assembly convening its fifth and second to last session on Wednesday, Bromley said he still has significant ground to cover.

"I plan on going hard right to the very end," said Bromley.

"There are so many issues that need attention. I seem to have a different perspective on many things that may not be as appreciated in the house as it is on the street. I get very strong support from the public to go hard on these things."

Rather than a singular focus, Bromley explained his approach as three-fold; taking social, economic and environmental factors into consideration.

"Without accounting for each one of those three, we're doing a shoddy job," said Bromley.

Bromley's environmental background - a bird biologist and sustainable communities consultant - shows through in his politics. Oil and gas development and hydraulic fracturing have been issues that garnered his attention and strong opinions.

"I've studied the fracking issue very intensively and I'm convinced it's not the way to go," said Bromley. "More importantly, I've studied the right way to develop our economies as you would, through those socially just and environmentally just ways ... the opportunities are so huge."

Over the past weekend, Bromley, along with MP Dennis Bevington co-ordinated a forum focused on developing local and sustainable economies that he said was greatly successful, though only in its first year.

In his time with the 16th and 17th legislative assemblies, Bromley said there have been some successes reducing energy usage within government - though these efforts have had less impact externally, he said - as well as in developing wellness court and seeing a review of Child and Family Services.

After his final day as a member, Bromley said he would remain busy, hoping to volunteer again for groups such as The Fiddle Society, and work toward giving people opportunities to invest locally and explore renewable energy.

Bromley co-founded Ecology North in the 1970s. Now, he said he looks forward to taking environmental action as a member of the public.

"Absolutely," Bromley laughed. "I can't wait to be advocating again."

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.