SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Dane Mason says he'll step away from his spokesperson job for the IserveU platform if he's elected to council. He said he thinks every citizen should have input on the direction the city takes in the future.
- Dane Mason
- Age: 31
- Marital Status: single
- Time in Yellowknife: 9 years
- Occupation: Manager of Policy and Strategic Planning for the GNWT
- Experience relevant to job: Highly involved in community and volunteer activities, and a master's degree in public administration.
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"Yellowknife is everyone's city," he said. "Would you rather have the best ideas of eight people or the collective views of 800?" Mason said customer service and core services need to be given a higher priority in city administration.
He said he thinks the city's plan for the 50/50 lot, developing the downtown core, and opening up the lines of communication to the make services more accessible and accountable to residents will be the most pressing issues during the election. He said he'd work with non-profit organizations and the territorial government to find solutions to homelessness and would use the IserveU platform to make sure he's giving residents what they ask for. "With the 50/50 lot, the city asked residents what they wanted and the answer was a library," he said. "They came back with a park. If we're going to ask residents for their input we should be open to that input."
Mason said he'll donate any income he receives as a councillor. He said one of the first things IserveU voters will be asked - if he's elected - is to which charities would they prefer he donate his councillor's honorarium to.
Jugjit More-Curran 'fiscally responsible'
Jugjit More-Curran is a first-time candidate and she wants to give something back to the city. She said the biggest issues she sees are the high cost of living, which has "reached a critical point" and doing business in the city.
- Jugjit More-Curran
- Age: 48
- Marital status: married
- Time in Yellowknife: Since 2003
- Occupation: human resources specialist, consulting services to aboriginal companies and organizations in aviation sector
- Experience relevant to the job: Small business owner, human resources specialist for two decades, past director with NWT Chamber of Commerce including as treasurer
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She is concerned about the number of businesses which have left the city in recent years and feels there is a stronger need for municipal politicians to control spending better.
"Between all the taxes, surcharges, fees and levies controlled by city hall, there is a real opportunity to get cost under control and make it easier for people to build the lives they deserve for families," she said. "I don't know people who aren't making tough budgeting choices in their personal lives. We need a council that is prepared to do the same thing."
More-Curran said she wants to ensure that citizens are getting good value for their money when it comes to what they pay at city hall, whether that means dump fees, registration, pet licence charges or business levies. She is also concerned about the number of people and businesses leaving the city and not being able to have a growing tax base to provide essential services.
This means that the city can do without extra expenses, she says, such as the proposal for the 2023 Canada Games.
"Make no mistake here that $36 million will come out of our pockets some way or another," she said. "I do not support this idea."
If she is voted in, she said voters will get a candidate who will watch their tax dollars.
"I think I have built a solid reputation as a hard worker and I am known to be fiscally responsible," she said.
