The mayor of Carmacks wants to be the Yukon Party MLA for Mayo-Tatchun.
Elaine Wyatt announced her plans to seek the governing party’s nomination for the riding on Friday.
The riding has been held by the Liberals’ Eric Fairclough since 1996.
Wyatt has served as Carmacks’ mayor for five years. Previously, she was deputy mayor from 2003 to 2006.
Wyatt is also first vice-president of the Association of Yukon Communities.
She touts how, during her tenure, Carmacks has seen its swimming pool and skating rink repaired, its roads chipsealed and its sewer lines extended.
If elected to the legislature, she’d push for a bypass road for the community. Presently, trucking traffic goes “right through the heart” of town, said Wyatt.
Beyond this, Wyatt isn’t pushing specific issues until she speaks to more would-be constituents, particularly those who live in Pelly Crossing and Mayo.
“Right now it’s more important to see what everyone else feels they need and see what their issues are. If I said a lot of things now, they’d be what my issues are, not what their issues are.”
Wyatt wants to “make sure the riding gets fairly represented,” but she won’t elaborate on how she’d do the job differently than Fairclough.
“I’d really not now like to get into that,” she said. “It’s not going to do anyone any good. Maybe the riding is looking for a change.”
Wyatt had no previous political affiliations before she recently joined the Yukon Party. She credits Premier Darrell Pasloski’s all-things-to-all-people pitch for bringing her on board.
“We’d like to see some economic growth, and do it responsibly and socially,” she said.
A date for the riding’s nomination meeting has not yet been set.
• Lana Putnam wants the Yukon Party nomination for Whitehorse Centre. Since January, she’s become an advocate for better addictions treatment services, following the suicide of her son, Chris.
But, if she wins the nomination, Putnam will face a big challenge in trying to unseat NDP Leader Liz Hanson, who won the downtown byelection with more than half the vote.
• Currie Dixon is seeking the nomination for Copperbelt North. Under the territory’s re-arranged electoral map, the riding is expected to be sought by Liberal Leader Arthur Mitchell, who lives in the new riding.
Dixon works as a policy wonk and advisor to the premier. It’s his first run for office. His campaign is being ran by Yukon Party kingpin Craig Tuton.
• Russ Hobbis isn’t giving up. He recently lost the Yukon Party nomination for Porter Creek South to Mike Nixon. Now he’s taking a run at Porter Creek Centre, which is being vacated by the retiring Archie Lang.
That pits him against David Laxton. He’s one of several lapsed Liberals who have joined the Yukon Party in the past year.
Contact John Thompson at johnt@yukon-news.com.