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Wilson tops poll
Village council a mix of new and old

Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Simpson (Oct 20/00) - Tom Wilson is the new mayor of Fort Simpson.

Wilson garnered 229 votes in Monday's municipal. That is twice as many votes as second-place candidate Andrew Gaule, who had 112 votes. Incumbent Norm Prevost finished third with 74 votes.

Voter turnout was close to 50 per cent as 422 of 865 eligible voters made a trip to the polls, according to elections officer Rita Cazon.

Wilson said he had been approached by many people over the weekend who told him he had their support.

"I was encouraging them to get out and vote. I do have a large number of former students in town who know me so maybe that helped," said Wilson, who taught for 20 years in Fort Simpson and was home with his family when the results came in around 11:45 p.m. on Monday night.

His top priorities include building strong alliances with the Liidlii Kue First Nation and Metis Local 52 to form a "common vision." That way the community can approach government and industry with one voice, he said.

"(Businesses) are not going to come here because of our good looks and charming personality. We've got to pursue them," he said.

He added funding cuts from MACA are not yet a reality, so that too must be addressed.

"It's a proposed thing. We have to go make our case as we have many times in the past," he said.

Setting next year's budget will be one of the pressing issues for the remainder of this year, according to Wilson. So too will be sorting out the legal troubles surrounding the sewage treatment plant.

"I've been frustrated by how this has been going. I don't want any of our local businesses going under because of it," he said.

Consulting with the Department of Transportation on how to fix Fort Simpson's roads, holding more town meetings and televising council meetings are other issues he plans to look into, he said.

Wilson added he's pleased with the composition of the new council, which is a blend of experience and new blood. The four incumbents who ran were all re-elected and they will be joined by four new councillors. He said it's good to see increased aboriginal representation on council too.

Other views

Prevost, who has been mayor of Fort Simpson for the past five years, suggested voters may have renounced him as a carry-over from their resounding rejection of Jupiter Power in last month's power plebiscite. Of his accomplishments, Prevost said he's proudest of the deficit reduction that he and council achieved.

"We're down to about $440,000 from $1.8 million five years ago ... I feel that they're in good shape to carry on," he said, adding that organizing village departments and administration, and plans to finish upgrading the roads are also milestones.

Gaule congratulated the successful councillors and mayor-elect Wilson, whom he described as the "consensus candidate." The electorate's choice in a small community is often based on how long candidates have lived in the community and how visible they are, Gaule said. He added he spurred debate over some important issues through his written platform and he's satisfied with that. "The councillors have a hard job ahead of them and they need the support of the community behind them," he said.