There’s a new councillor in Carmacks after a byelection was held on Nov. 30.
David Mitchell won the seat with a total of 47 votes. Also in the running were Tara Wheeler and Preston Skookum, with 30 and 20 votes, respectively.
The byelection was called after Coun. Kevin Unterschute resigned in late September, due to what Mayor Lee Bodie calls “personal reasons.”
Bodie told the News this has been the third byelection since he first joined council in 2006. In both other cases, it was because councillors were moving away.
“We’re sad to see Councillor Unterschute leave,” Bodie said. “He’s certainly had some great ideas, but we understand his predicament and we look forward to having his replacement.”
Bodie said that though the position has been vacant since the end of September, the vacancy hasn’t stalled any of the community’s current plans.
“We have a strong council,” Bodie said. “We’re all in tune and all on the same page […] we’ve had a good run at working together. Every decision we make is almost always unanimous.”
Some of those decisions include flood mitigation strategies and replacing the boardwalk that was damaged by floods in recent summers. Bodie said council members are also excited about Carmacks’ application to the Yukon Housing Corporation and additional funders, to build a 48-unit housing complex.
Bodie said the complex is much-needed in the community of roughly 500.
If the project goes ahead, it will be located on the Yukon River waterfront at a former highway maintenance yard near the visitor’s centre.
In addition to residential units, Bodie said the plan is to include incubator businesses at street level. He said residents want the option not to have to go into Whitehorse for every commercial need, but space in Carmacks is at a premium. The hope is that this space will allow entrepreneurs to open things like barbershops, nail salons and more.
The News was unable to reach Mitchell and Skookum before press time.
Wheeler, who operates a daycare in Carmacks, sat on council from 2009 to 2021. In 2021 she ran for mayor and lost by five votes to Bodie. She said she wanted to run for council again because people still ask her what’s going on at a municipal level. When she realized she doesn’t know now that she’s no longer on council, she resolved to make communication a priority if elected.
The next general election for Yukon municipal councils will be held in October 2024.
In 2023, the Yukon Municipal Act was amended to extend a councillor’s term from three years to four.
Bodie said it takes a couple years to get the swing of things as a councillor. The third year is usually when you start to feel comfortable in the role, he said. Having a fourth year will allow city councils to better realize the plans they develop.
Contact Amy Kenny at amy.kenny@yukon-news.com