Richard Gleeson
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Nov 22/00) - There may be other explanations, but Liberal campaign chair Lynda Sorensen said the apparent lack of interest in the election is a sign of how satisfied people are with the job Ethel Blondin-Andrew has been doing.
"I used to find that as an MLA," said Sorensen. "I used to hold constituency meetings and no one would come and they would say 'Why, you're doing a good job.' "I suppose it says a lot about the relative contentment of Northerners."
Only 40 people came to the cavernous Midnight Sun Rec Complex for the all-candidates forum in Inuvik last Thursday. Public meetings hosted by Blondin-Andrew in Fort Simpson and Fort Smith drew single digit turnouts.
Meeting the challenge
Candidates got a travel boost this week -- four more free tickets each from Canadian North. The donation comes in the wake of exactly the same donation from First Air and opens the door to last week door-knocking in remote communities.
Forum mania
During this last week before the election, voters have a lot of looks at the candidates. Monday and Tuesday in Yellowknife, CJCD hosted a radio call-in show, and the Yellowknife Inn sponsored a meet the candidates evening. Today the Hay River Chamber of Commerce is hosting an all-candidates forum. CBC has another on tap at the legislative assembly tomorrow night starting at 8 p.m.
This week on the road
Bruce McLaughlin - Wednesday: Hay River; Thursday, Fort Smith (tentative), Yellowknife; Friday-Monday: Hay River and Yellowknife. Fred Turner - Wednesday: Hay River; Thursday-Monday: Yellowknife. Dennis Bevington - Wednesday: Hay River; Thursday: Yellowknife; Friday-Saturday: Hay River, Fort Resolution; Sunday: Fort Smith; Monday: Yellowknife. Ethel Blondin-Andrew - Wednesday: Yellowknife, Hay River; Thursday: Fort Good Hope, Colville Lake; Yellowknife, Friday: not finalized; Saturday: Yellowknife; Sunday: not finalized; Monday: Yellowknife.
