TUKTOYAKTUK
"I'm still kind of a little bit in shock, but all good things must come to an end," said outgoing Tuktoyaktuk Mayor Merven Gruben on Dec. 11, the day after he lost his seat to challenger Darrel Nasogaluak by 115 votes.

After 17 years on council and six years as mayor of Tuktoyaktuk, Merven Gruben was voted out of office on Dec. 10, losing to challenger Darrel Nasogaluak by 115 votes. Here, Gruben speaks with Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2010. The outgoing mayor credits this visit with making the Inuvik-to-Tuk highway a reality. - photo courtesy of Merven Gruben

Gruben has served as mayor for the past six years, and has sat on council for 17.

During that time, Tuk hasn't changed much, said Gruben.

"Except the youth. There are a lot more youth in politics now, and that's a good thing."

Looking back at his time at Tuk's helm, Gruben is most proud of getting the Inuvik-Tuk highway going.

The turning point for the highway came during a prime ministerial visit in 2010. Shortly before, Leona Aglukkaq advised Gruben to pick one thing to ask for - and one thing only.

Mulling between school renovations, fixing the eroding shoreline and the most Northern portion of the Mackenzie Valley Highway, Gruben said he eventually settled on the road.

He pitched it to Prime Minister Stephen Harper as a legacy project - fulfilling Diefenbaker's dream of connecting the country from coast to coast to coast.

Aglukkaq told him later that on the herc flying out of the hamlet, Harper was already setting plans in motion to make the highway a reality.

"That was the big turning point," said Gruben.

Construction on the all-weather road started in earnest this year. One hundred people are already employed on the Tuk side of the road, and another 100 positions are expected to open up in January.

"It's benefiting the North big time," said Gruben. "Win or lose, we got it going."

Economic development and fixing the eroding shoreline top the list of priorities for Tuk's new mayor elect.

"Erosion is a big problem in a lot of the communities but Tuk is especially hard hit because of the low-lying areas," said Nasogaluak, adding some residents' yards are crumbling into the ocean.

The hamlet doesn't have the resources to fix the problem on their own, so he will focus on lobbying the territorial and federal governments for funds.

Next is economic development.

"We need to be prepared for when the all-weather road is open," he said. "We don't have a hotel in Tuk. We don't have a restaurant, and very few facilities for RV parking. We need a retail outlet for art."

The other items on his wish list include a drop-in centre for elders and other community members, and getting youth more involved in the community.

The council is still looking to fill its youth councilor position, which is a non-voting position, and Nasogaluak said he is going to focus on this in the new year.

Nasogaluak is no stranger to hamlet politics. He has sat on council for three terms, six years, and has served as deputy mayor for two of those terms.

"The outgoing mayor spent a lot of time away from town, so I did a lot of chairing of the meetings while he was away," he said.

This, coupled with his experience as chair of the Hunters and Trappers Committee, has readied him for his new role.

The Dec. 10 election was not Nasogaluak's first attempt to unseat Gruben, who happens to also be his first cousin. During the last hamlet elections in 2011, Gruben hung on to his seat by just 11 votes.

This was the first time the two had gone head-to-head for the mayorship, and Nasogaluak credited this with his victory.

Gruben's story was a bit different.

"There were dirty politics involved," he said. "There were rumours on social media that if I didn't win, I was going to shut the highway down ... what's done is done, but I want to make sure that kind of thing doesn't happen anymore."

Nasogaluak acknowledged that there were some rumours flying around the hamlet, but that Tuk residents ultimately felt it was time for a change, and that's what was reflected in the vote.

Neither of the candidates seemed to leave the election harbouring resentment.

"No hard feelings," said Gruben. "It's time to focus on the good things and reflect."

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