Former mayor turned soccer dad
Jorge Barrera
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Apr 18/01) - Dave Lovell has to track down one of his son's soccer teammates because there has been a mixup with rubber boots after a Monday afternoon game. He leafs through the phone book, finds the number but gets a busy signal.
"Oh well," he says as he hangs up the phone.
These are the days of Lovell's life, former two-term mayor of Yellowknife. Now in the autumn of his working life, the 52-year-old is exploring a new phase of his life: family man.
"I'm entering the third stage of my life," says Lovell.
"I did two things well. My job as an accountant and as mayor, now it's just being a good person to live next door to," says Lovell. It's the financial adjustments that Lovell is getting used to. Before taking office as mayor, Lovell said he was close to being a millionaire as manager for the territorial government's audit bureau. Now that he's been out of the circuit for so long he's starting all over again.
"I'm going to be making $20,000 to $30,000 less now," he said.
He doesn't keep up with municipal politics any more. A couple of months ago he was asked out to have a couple of beers with current councillors Ben McDonald and Wendy Bisaro to shoot the political breeze.
"I don't even know the issues any more and it's better that I don't," says Lovell.
"The final service (to the city) is to walk away," said Lovell. He's currently working for the Nunavut government's audit department and taking care of his 84-year-old mother Goldie who's currently living with him. He recently polished off five computer courses.
This past Easter weekend he went for a long walk with his son Russell, 5, to Vee Lake.
He doesn't miss the mayor's chair which he lost in last fall's municipal election to Mayor Gord Van Tighem.
"I remember the night I lost I laid in bed thinking about the things I missed and realized I could spend this July 1 at the cabin," says Lovell.
