INUVIK
After a term in the legislative assembly, Alfred Moses' optimism is mixed with realism.

Incumbent MLA Alfred Moses says he prefers a face-to-face campaign strategy and will be knocking on doors in his riding to connect with voters. - photo courtesy of Alfred Moses

"We have to be innovative in finding solutions for the community," he told the Drum last week. "Ask me four years ago, it would have been a different answer."

Moses has served as MLA for Inuvik Boot Lake for the last term, one he said was both a humbling and exhilarating experience. While he acknowledges there are many challenges facing Inuvik and the NWT as a whole, he said he is ready to tackle those problems.

"I was very optimistic when I was first elected, and we got a lot done," he said. "Now that optimism is mixed with realism. There are going to be some tough decisions that need to be made, and that's where the realism comes into play."

Moses said the financial challenges facing the 18th Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories will be massive and that it filters down to the communities themselves. Issues like the rampant economic downturn, homelessness, mental health and education are at the top of his list of priorities, as well as questions that remain despite there not being much pressure for answers from industry, like fracking.

"My platform is a lot," he admitted, describing the brochure he has produced as a fairly exhaustive list. "But I'm pretty confident we can get it all addressed."

As for his campaign, Moses is going old school, knocking on doors and talking to people. He said people have been asking him if he will create a Facebook page to support his re-election, but he said he prefers a more direct approach.

"You need that face-to-face," he said, noting that social media can look more like cheerleading and self-promotion than substantive discussion. "You have to make sure you're accessible, approachable. At our office, we had a lot of people stopping in, not afraid to tell us what was on their minds."

While going door-to-door, Moses is also taking down names and e-mail addresses of people interested in keeping in touch. He gave the example of last year, when the assembly voted to extend its term.

The decision was made over a weekend with very little time to canvass constituents for their reaction. While getting on the phone and calling everyone in Boot Lake to get their comments isn't possible, sending out a mass e-mail and reading as many responses as he can is another story. In the event that his opponent, Dez Loreen, is victorious, Moses would hand over that list of e-mails to be put to good use.

"It's all about communication," Moses said, adding that the strong voices from the community made his job that much easier. "Accountability when decisions are being made."

Even so, he said the first two years were a major learning curve. The amount of work involved in being an MLA, Moses said, was something of a shock.

"To learn the process and everything, is a lot, you have to read all your documents, do your homework, be there in those meetings, and then balance time between Yellowknife and your community," he said. "I think I did that."

At the heart of it, Moses said it all has to start with passion.

"Hopefully we'll see things get done," he said. "It's all about passion, action and impact. You have to have that passion first, and that understanding, to put effort into learning about people and making connections."

- See last week's Inuvik Drum for a profile on the other Boot Lake candidate Dez Loreen.

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