Incumbent wins in Mackenzie Delta
Frederick Blake Jr. overcomes some rocky times in his first term to handily retain seat
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Monday, November 30, 2015
MACKENZIE DELTA
Frederick (Sonny) Blake Jr. has been re-elected to a second term as the MLA for Mackenzie Delta.
Blake won with 313 votes. His nearest competitor was William Firth who finished with 137 votes. Norman Snowshoe was third with 116 votes while David Krutko had 86 votes.
Blake said he won the riding handily because the people he represents thought he had done a good job during the 17th legislative assembly.
"I'm just thankful that the people had the confidence in me to represent them for another term," Blake said.
"I brought a lot of the issues forward that were given to me. I made sure I brought forth a lot of the concerns in the House. I think that's what people want to see. I think that over the past four years a lot of people watched (assembly sittings) on TV and they saw me first-hand bringing forth issues that were important to them. People want to see the younger generation taking over as leaders. I think that played a big part in my victory as well."
Blake, 38, overcame an alcohol controversy that reared its head about midway through his first term. He had been accused of missing a day and a half's worth of committee meetings in Inuvik in April, 2013 after excessive drinking the night before. Blake never commented to News/North at the time but admitted to another media outlet that he had missed the meetings due to personal reasons and that alcohol was a factor.
"I learned from my mistakes and since then I quit drinking and I think that played a part (in my win,)" Blake said.
"That's one thing I told myself was to focus on my work and I have done that. Everything's working out."
Blake said that he has matured snce that alcohol-fueled evening.
Daryl Dolynny, then-MLA for Range Lake, told News/North that Blake had apologized to the committee during a closed-door meeting and said he would be seeking treatment for substance abuse. Blake said he is looking forward to tackling issues like the high cost of living and the shortage of affordable housing in his riding during the 1 8th assembly.
In a news release, The Gwich'in Tribal Council (GTC) congratulated Blake and the two winning candidates in Inuvik, Robert C. McLeod and Alfred Moses.
"It was an exciting election this year as all three ridings in the Gwich'in Settlement Area saw challengers to the incumbents," said James Wilson, president of the GTC.
"The election brought many issues that directly affect our participants to the table and we were encouraged by many of the ideas put forth by all the candidates during the campaign - particularly in the areas of social services, housing, economic development and land and resource management."
Voter turnout in Mackenzie Delta was just over 65 per cent, one of the highest in the territory.
