SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A ragged ass barber has thrown his hat into the ring and announced he is running for a seat on Yellowknife City Council this fall. Steve Payne, co-owner of the iconic Ragged Ass Barbers said he's ready to try his hand at municipal politics. Payne said he has been thinking about it for quite a while.

Steve Payne, second from left, has declared his candidacy for city council. He is pictured here earlier this year along with Ted Canning, left, Angela Canning, Jennifer Lockhart and Chad Malouin who together put together food packages for students in need. - NNSL file photo

"I've decided I want to make a change and make life better for my kids and everybody else's kids," he said. "I think I would represent the opinion of the average person up here. I think I'm a pretty average guy. We're not in average times. We're in high-spending times. We're a small town and we spend like the big city," Payne said.

Payne moved to Yellowknife 19 years ago from Newfoundland. Along with being a barber and a businessman, Payne also teaches hair cutting at St. Patrick High School. He believes that cutting people's hair gives him a unique perspective on the mood of Yellowknifers. It's a one-on-one thing and you build relationships with people over time. You've got nothing else to do but talk," Payne said.

"From the shop, I get to talk to a lot of people. The cost of living is the main thing people want to talk about," Payne said. "Everybody has an opinion on what we should be doing so it's not going to be only my opinion that I go with but what the people want me to go with."

The high cost of living and the social problems in Yellowknife like homelessness and drug and alcohol addiction are the two issues Payne considers the most important.

"In no way am I down on the homeless people of Yellowknife. I want to help them," Payne said. "But the fact is businesses of Yellowknife are being hijacked by about 75 people and costing millions of dollars a year. People don't want to and won't step over urine and vomit in order to walk into a business in downtown Yellowknife," Payne said.

It is not strictly a downtown issue, Payne said.

"The big box stores hurt too. How many times have you gone to Walmart and seen a physical confrontation outside the doors or people screaming inside for different reasons? I see it all the time."

He said that the city must do more to help people who don't have anywhere to live and/or are struggling with drug and alcohol issues.

Payne believes that the city's Housing First Strategy is a step in the right direction but he would like to read more details on exactly what it wold look like.

He is in favour of building a shelter that would house the homeless, not just during the day but overnight as well.

"I don't think apartments are the answer. I'd like to see more of a dormitory-type setting. If a dorm is good enough for college students, I'm sure a dorm is good enough for homeless people," Payne said.

Payne also doesn't fell that there are enough treatment options in the city for people suffering from drug and alcohol abuse.

"Right now we don't have any facilities to treat substance abuse. We need to help our people," Payne said. "Society is judged on how we treat our poor and our downtrodden. I'm sure budgets can be re-arranged both territorially and municipally to find some money to start helping people. They have kids and this is what the kids are seeing."

He wants people visiting the city to come away with the opinion of it that he has - a community that is more than willing to help people. He pointed to a recent house fire in the city where more than $15,000 was raised within days to help the victims.

"When there's a crisis up here, we really band together. We're better at it than any other city," he said.

Payne would like to see more information before he makes up his mind on whether the city should be bidding to host 2023 Canada Winter Games. "If it was just based on the information I've seen so far, I would not vote for it," Payne said. The overall cost for the Games is estimated by be just under $30 million. That cost would be shared between three levels of government and corporate sponsors.

"Our roads and water and sewers need major work but we are not getting money into it that we need. We have to look at cutting some services," he said. "I'd like operational reviews done on all city departments to see how we could streamline and make things better.

Payne said he expects to file his official nomination papers by summer.

The election is set for Oct. 19.