Andy Carvill has been elected chief of the Carcross/Tagish First Nation in a landslide victory.
The former Council of Yukon First Nations Grand Chief and CTFN chief won Wednesday’s election with 157 votes.
That’s about 51 per cent of the votes, twice the amount received by his closest opponent, outgoing chief Danny Cresswell.
“(My goals) are to work with the people, to look at an agenda conducive towards a healthy community and building relationships with the entire community,” Carvill told the News on Thursday.
“I want to get our elders and youth involved in government,” he said, adding that he would be looking into creating a youth council.
When asked about the recent conviction of an RCMP officer for assaulting a Carcross man and the relationship between CTFN and the force, Carvill said he plans to meet with them.
“It’s one of the issues I’m definitely going to be looking at,” he said.
“When I was a leader in the past, there was a good relationship in the community - not just with the RCMP.”
Carvill said that many members brought up to him the fact they felt their voices weren’t heard, something he says he will work toward rectifying during his four-year mandate.
“I want to continue on the work Kha Shade Heni Cresswell has done over the years ensuring people’s voices were heard in unity,” he said.
The swearing-in ceremony, during which Carvill will receive the talking stick, is scheduled for May 31.
Carvill will at that time become the Kha Shade Heni of the First Nation.
The 52-year-old was first elected as a councillor for CTFN in 1996 and was a chief until 2003.
He was elected in 2005 as CYFN’s grand chief and re-elected in 2008, but he resigned in 2010 amidst infighting in the council over what powers the grand chief should have.
In between his terms serving as chief and grand chief, Carvill created his own construction company based in Carcross.
With only 307 of the 757 eligible voters casting a ballot in Wednesday’s election, turnout was at about 41 per cent.
Contact Pierre Chauvin at
pierre.chauvin@yukon-news.com