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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Mayoral candidate Mark Heyck says he is the best man for the mayor's job because he has the most experience on council, has lived in the North the longest, and is the only current candidate with experience in the city's top job.

"I think I would bring a few things to the job," said Heyck.

Heyck has been a city councillor for the past nine years and has served as deputy mayor for the city for the past six years. This experience has given him an intimate understanding of how city hall works and how to work with city councillors with opposing views, he said.

"The mayor is not the king of Yellowknife, they don't decree what happens," said Heyck.

"They have a council of eight councillors and nothing happens without the support of the majority of those eight councillors, so there's a need for the person who assumes that role as mayor to have an understanding of how you work with different people of different views to come to a consensus and to move the community forward, ultimately."

Heyck said he will take this bipartisan approach to the mayor's seat if he is elected Oct. 15.

Another thing that Heyck said sets him apart from other candidates is the fact that he is the only candidate who was born and raised in the city. Heyck grew up near Con Mine, where his father worked for 35 years.

Heyck received an added boost in January when outgoing Mayor Gord Van Tighem endorsed him in his state of the city address to the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce.

Among the issues he intends campaign on, Heyck cites the cost of living, city infrastructure and better communication with residents.

On the cost of living, Heyck said that the city can help by encouraging and even spearheading more high-density housing projects, and creating programs to lower energy costs.

"I think there are concrete ways that the local government can help local residents and businesses lower their costs," he said, citing examples from many other jurisdictions where the municipal government subsidized energy-efficient retrofits, such as energy-saving appliances for homes and businesses.

"In our context, it's known as a local improvement charge. You can think of it as what Northlands has done," he said. "The city borrows the money to put into resident infrastructure and then the residents pay that back over a 15- to 25-year period of time."

Heyck also said the city needs to work harder in the next few years to replace and improve city infrastructure like roads and sidewalks, along with water and sewer pipes. He cites the ongoing project to replace all corrugated metal piping that began in 1985 and was originally scheduled to be complete by 2005 but has since been delayed due to funds being redirected to other city projects.

Heyck also said that he would like to see the city increase resident engagement through neighbourhood consultations, such as those the city conducted in the leadup to the 2011 General Plan.

"People really appreciated that consultation," he said. "It's the kind of thing we should be doing - giving people the opportunity to weigh in on things that will affect their neighbourhoods before they happen."

Fact file

Mark Heyck

Age: 36

Occupation:

Website and multimedia co-ordinator at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre/city councillor

Marital status:

In a committed partnership with Amy Lea, mother of the couple's twin six-year-old sons Sam and Alex

Time in Yellowknife: Born and raised in Yellowknife, spent seven years away beginning at age 15.

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