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Vanthuyne victorious in Yk North
Ekes out win versus former city council colleague Dan Wong

Simon Whitehouse
Northern News Services
Wednesday, November 25, 2015

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
After a tight race that went down to the final three polls, a long-held dream of serving Yellowknife as an MLA came true for Cory Vanthuyne on election night.

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Cory Vanthuyne, MLA-elect for Yellowknife North, receives a hug from his aunt Bev Bourque while celebrating his win at the Woodyard brew pub on election night. - Simon Whitehouse/NNSL photo

Vanthuyne, a 45-year-old longtime Yellowknifer was among 12 supporters at the Woodyard brew pub Monday evening as final results confirmed him as the victor of the Yellowknife North race with 16 votes over his closest challenger Dan Wong - like Vanthuyne, a former city councillor. Roars of excitement erupted at the pub as the unofficial tally was announced over the television screens shortly after 10 p.m.

Of 11 polls, the unofficial results - they have yet to be certified by Elections NWT - showed Vanthuyne winning with 392 votes compared to 376 for Wong. Other candidates in the race left wide open by retiring MLA Bob Bromley included Ben Nind, 189 votes, Edwin Castillo, 127 votes and Sean Erasmus with 12 ballots.

"No matter how large or small the turnout was, I knew I was going to be facing a neck-and-neck race and I think that is what most people realized," said Vanthuyne.

"I feel satisfied to know that it has taken a lot of hard work. This has not been a matter of 30 days since the writ dropped but for me it was almost a dozen years, in fact."

Vanthuyne cited former city senior administrative officer Max Hall, who advised him many years ago to see through two terms of council, which he said proved to be helpful with his success.

"I had advice from Max who was a neighbour and friend of mine and he advised me when I was running for the first term that I would definitely want to commit to two terms," he said. "The timing worked out in that the final term with the city ended when the opportunity to run for the territorial election was right on the doorstep."

Vanthuyne supporter Adrian Bell, who also served with Vanthuyne on council, said he was following Yellowknife North "very closely" because the two were longtime friends and colleagues.

"I am very excited for Cory because he worked hard for this," said Bell. "I have known him for years and I know his level of dedication and commitment to this city. He has grown up here and he lives and breathes Yellowknife. I'm just grateful the constituency recognized that."

Another big supporter is Nancy MacNeill, who worked closely with Vanthuyne on the Long John Jamboree organization committee and with NWT Pride.

"Change is always awesome and I think we are going to see that over the next few years, including with Cory," she said. "He is a great guy, he's an awesome politician and one of the most realistic humans I've ever met."

Earlier in the evening, Dan Wong, who had served a single term on council alongside Vanthuyne, expressed disappointment while watching the results come in with about 20 supporters at his campaign headquarters on Franklin Avenue.

Ben Nind, Edwin Castillo and Sean Erasmus all held private gatherings at their homes as the results came in.

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