Yellowknife's municipal election campaign, by and large, has not be fraught with much overt electorate enthusiasm, and that's to be expected.

The silent majority will certainly be the most powerful force in Monday's municipal election. The few, the proud and the loud have had their say. They have swayed a few voters this way and that, but for the most part will probably have little effect on the vote's outcome.

Whether or not the die is cast makes no difference, this is still one of the most important elections in Yellowknife's history.

Be sure to vote -- but don't waste your vote. You need only cast ballots for the individuals you wish to elect, and although you are granted eight choices for council, remember: casting a vote for a candidate just because you can could actually cost your favorite candidate the election!

Mayor and council coming out of Monday's election, we hope, will chart a course for the city through territorial division and into the next millennium.

Government employment fluctuations, diamond-industry growth pains, gold mining anxieties, slow but steady population growth and the services needed to keep that population happy and attract more will be visited by the council voted in Monday night.

That council will also grapple with whether or not to continue with city hall's secret meetings, what to do about the houseboat legal suit, what to do with the Woodyard, where to build the new arena and what type of facility it should be.

The new council will be charged with a mandate that, should they choose to shirk their responsibilities, could forever damage the infrastructure and viability of this young city that has so much potential and life in it.

Three years ago today, Yellowknifers hit the polls in droves to cast their ballots in the biggest municipal election race in city history.

Twenty-four candidates had signed nomination papers for the city's eight aldermanic seats, while six candidates -- four of them council veterans -- hit the hustings hoping for the coveted mayor's chair.

Fast forward three years, to Oct. 20, 1997, when 18 candidates, just two of them incumbents, will vie for the eight aldermanic seats and five candidates, four of whom served on the last council -- will fight over the mayor's chair.

There's no doubt there are plenty out there willing to run the city. But your job is to pick the right ones for the job. Good luck.

It is good to see MP Ethel Blondin-Andrew getting involved in the diamond-sorting fracas. After all, isn't that why we have friends in high places?

Ottawa is where the GNWT has to put the pressure to get the sorting jobs in the North. BHP itself says that it is a regulatory matter and the federal government has yet to make a decision.

If having an MP who's a member of the federal government counts for anything, now's the time to find out. We hope that our MP throws as much energy into lobbying for the sorting plant as she did into her re-election campaign.

A swift and stern sentence is the best response to a brutal, unprovoked attack on a senior citizen.

This week a judge sentenced a 19-year-old man to two years less a day for assaulting an 80-year-old. The senior suffered a broken hip in the attack.

There was no excuse for the attack -- not that it's ever easy to excuse an assault of any type -- and there should be no compromise in the sentence.

Jail is not the solution to every problem, but in this the courts have sent an important message to both violent offenders and citizens: this kind of behavior will not be tolerated.