Incumbent mayors fall
Three of four leaders of hamlets lose in elections
Paul Bickford
Northern News Services
Published Monday, December 16, 2013
NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
It was not a good year to be a mayor running for re-election in the NWT.
In Dec. 9 elections in 10 hamlets throughout the NWT, three of four incumbent mayors were defeated - in Enterprise, Aklavik and Tuktoyaktuk.
The only mayor to stem the tide was Garry Bailey, who was re-elected in the Hamlet of Fort Resolution.
Bailey, who is also the president of the Northwest Territory Metis Nation, faced off with Chief Louis Balsillie of Deninu Ku'e First Nation.
"I'm glad a lot of people still have faith in me," said Bailey.
"It's been a rough two years for us, but I think we're over that hump now and I think things can start happening with this new term."
The mayor said his priorities include pushing to get chip seal for the community's streets, and continuing to offer good governance that is transparent and accountable.
Bailey said he is quite happy with the results of the election.
"I knew it would be close," he said, expressing thanks to everyone who supported him.
In Enterprise, Coun. John Leskiw II won the race for mayor over incumbent Michael St. Amour by a vote of 31-17.
Leskiw admitted to being rather surprised by the size of his victory.
"To be honest with you, I didn't think I was going to win by that margin."
The mayor-elect said he doesn't know whether his victory was because people believe in what he believes in, or whether they were just tired of the old government.
It is well known that Enterprise hamlet council is having difficulties.
The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs (MACA) recently stepped in to help the council function more efficiently.
There are also divisions in the community.
"I think my initial goal is going to be to try and bring this community back together," said Leskiw, a 56-year-old retiree.
In Aklavik, Charlie Furlong defeated incumbent mayor Arnulf Steinwand.
"It's overwhelming to get such a large vote of confidence from the community," said Furlong, who served as the hamlet's mayor in the 1990s.
In addition, he previously was chief of the Aklavik Indian Band and president of the Ehdiitat Gwich'in Council.
Furlong said he hopes to stimulate Aklavik's economy through infrastructure projects, pointing to building an access road 29 km west into the Richardson Mountains, for example.
"So that's going to be one of my priorities and also to continue repairing the roads from the 2006 flood," he said, adding he also hopes to help develop a tourism strategy, and encourage young people to get an education to prepare for jobs created by self-government and devolution.
Plus, he is also very concerned about the high rate of cancer in Aklavik.
"My goal is to work with all the agencies in the community to try to build a healthy community," he said, explaining that will involve encouraging people to eat properly and exercise.
Furlong noted the Dec. 9 election recorded the highest turnout compared to previous elections in Aklavik, with 282 votes being cast by about 400 eligible voters.
In another vote involving a mayor seeking re-election, Darrel Nasogaluak defeated Merven Gruben, the long-time incumbent mayor of Tuktoyaktuk.
In Fort McPherson, Vasilos Bill Prodromidis was elected over two other candidates in a race for mayor that featured no incumbent.
Hazel Nerysoo, the current mayor, did not seek re-election.
For Prodromidis, this will be his second time as mayor, having served in that position from 2007-2009.
Before that, Prodromidis was a councillor and deputy mayor after being first elected to hamlet council in 2000.
In 2011, he narrowly lost in a bid to be elected mayor.
Prodromidis said he decided to run this year after receiving calls from some Fort McPherson residents concerned about problems in the hamlet, and asking him to find out what is going on and offer solutions.
"Once I get into the office I'm going to have a better idea and then I'm going to put my plans into action," he said.
Prodromidis works with the GNWT as a marine manager and looks after two ferries.
In Fort Liard, Morris McLeod was acclaimed to his second term as mayor when nominations closed in November.
At that time, McLeod said community members asked him to again run for mayor because there were projects they wanted to see completed, including chipsealing more streets and finding a suitable location for a new seniors' housing complex.
The only other acclamations involved four candidates for council in Tuktoyaktuk.
The 10 hamlets now have a combined 39 new or re-elected councillors.
All the new community representatives will be sworn in at meetings in early January.
David Kravitz, chief municipal electoral officer with MACA, said the elections in all the hamlets went well, as far as the department is aware.
"We have an impression that the turnout was probably a little bit better than average this year," he said, noting the department doesn't officially compile such numbers.
The only exception was Sachs Harbour, Kravitz said. "But even there it wasn't a bad turnout considering they weren't electing people."
In Sachs Harbour, there were four candidates for five seats on council, meaning everyone won. The vote was held to determine the three new councillors with the highest number of votes, who will serve for two years, while the fourth-place finisher will serve for one year. Council will decide how to fill the vacant seat.
Kravitz said there were recounts when the difference between the last successful candidate and the first unsuccessful candidate was four votes or less.
"That happened in five communities," he said. "We understand that they did recounts immediately after the initial count just to confirm those counts and that the counts came out the same."
Candidates can also go to court to ask for a judicial recount, Kravitz said. "We're not aware of anybody who's looking to do that."
- with files from Roxanna Thompson
