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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Daryl Dolynny is the lone new face from Yellowknife in the legislative assembly after winning Range Lake on Oct. 3. The riding was vacated by former health minister Sandy Lee who resigned in March to run in the federal election.

Daryl Dolynny, with his wife Cindy, celebrate after his acceptance speech as the new MLA in the Range Lake riding at the Aurora Conference Centre on election night, Oct. 3. - Heather Lange/NNSL

The Shoppers Drug Mart owner received 277 votes or 39 per cent of the vote compared to David Wasylciw's 210 votes; Beaton Mackenzie took 167 votes; and Norman Smith came up last with 67 votes. Only 718 votes were cast out of a possible 1,998 registered voters in Range Lake or 35.9 per cent.

"Of course we would have liked to have seen more voters come out and we are trying to speculate why voter numbers were so low. They may have felt that I was a strong candidate and that I may have had a win or it may have been voter apathy to a certain degree, where they don't feel like they're being engaged," said Dolynny.

At Dolynny's campaign reception at the Aurora Conference Centre, he commended his three opponents and said they all ran a transparent and civil campaign that focused on principles and policies. Dolynny also thanked the people behind "Team Dolynny."

"Its been a lot of work and I have a lot of teammates I need to be thankful for," said Dolynny.

He said he is ready to get to work for his constituents and was looking ahead to the next four years and beyond.

"We are faced with a huge crisis getting this economic engine going forward and I'm going to be bringing that forward to the table and hopefully with other members. I'm looking forward and ready to getting started as soon as I can, he said. "Yes, I am a new person coming in, but I laid the ground work years ago."

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