IQALUIT (Aug 10/98) - Ed Picco is not your ordinary politician -- he speaks almost fluent Inuktitut with a Newfoundland accent, writes both horror fiction and historical non-fiction and he approaches the world of public office from a strong family point of view.

So when you ask Iqaluit's MLA, who now has three years of experience under his belt as a legislator, if he's going to run in Nunavut's election in February, he won't answer the question until he consults his family.

"There's a lot of cynicism about politics in general and it's been tough on my family. Some people say things to me but they might say more stuff to my wife. It's been tough and that's the thing I'm looking at. In October, we'll decide if we should look that direction," says Picco, a resident of Baffin Island for the last 15 years.

If he does decide to pursue one of Iqaluit's three seats in the new legislature, he plans to jump in head first, much like he did during the 1995 election when he felt that the territory needed solid representation in the Legislative Assembly. Picco says he wants to see that continue.

"I thought it was very crucial in 1995, four years before the creation of Nunavut, to have people in there who could articulate the issues," says Picco.

And he does just that. He sits on numerous committees, constantly launches motions in the legislature and puts forward about 35 per cent of all the questions asked during session.

Picco adds that he's never been afraid of taking a stand on even the most contentious political issues including same-sex benefits, the transfer of college programs, the financial accountability of politicians and most recently, Premier Morin's conflict of interest inquiry.

It is this record that Picco plans to stand on if he runs in February.

"I've tried to do good things for the people of Iqaluit...I wanted to be the MLA I always wanted an MLA to be."

But Although the job allows him to meet many people and gives him the opportunity to try and help solve his constituents' problems, Picco says the hard work and constant travel takes its toll.

"Is the renumeration financially, physically, monetarily, personally worth it? I don't know," says Picco, 38.

While he struggles with the decision about his future, Picco always takes a few moments out to remember exactly how he made the final choice to run as an MLA.

"I was thinking about running but I hadn't made up my mind. I ran into (John) Todd at the airport and he said 'Ed, I heard you're thinking about running. Don't do it. You're an idiot, you'll never win. You can't do it.'

He said that publicly in front of several people and I said I'm going to run."