There will be elections for both mayor and councillor positions in Dawson City this Oct. 17.
This was reported by returning officer Charles Brunner on Sept. 26 after the nomination period ceased at noon.
Three people are running for the mayor’s chair: current Mayor William Kendrick; former councillor Stephen Johnson; and former school council chair and former Klondike Visitors Association board member Sue Lancaster.
Two members of the current council — Patrik Pikalek and Alex Somerville — have decided to run again and had actually declared their intentions by the time of a pre-election public meeting on Sept. 14.
At that same meeting, Justine Hobbs and Cud Eastbound took out papers and began to collect the necessary ten signatures.
Since that date, the following people have also stepped forward to run for council: Lisa Anderson, Jimmy Boddie, Giulia Cecchi, Darwyn Lynn, Tobias Graf and Kathleen McGarity.
Dawson elects one mayor and four members of council.
The current council, which has another three meetings to round out its three-year term, came into power after a mayoral election which saw the original four council members acclaimed. One of them stepped down and was replaced in a by-election during the first year of the term.
It has been a fractious council, with many disputes between the mayor and various other members. The four councillors became dissatisfied with the way Kendrick chaired the regular full council and committee of the whole meetings and removed that power from his duties late in 2023.
There has been a protracted series of discussions before council concerning what is said to be Kendrick’s misuse of some City of Dawson owned land adjacent to his North End property, including the installation of a septic tank to replace a failed tank, and some other encroachments. The town’s administration has announced that it is intending to sue Kendrick in his capacity as a private landowner over this matter. At the time of writing, the suit has not yet gone to court but it was announced in the Sept. 11 edition of the local newspaper, the Klondike Sun.
The Oct. 9 edition of that paper will contain paid advertising by the council candidates, as well as offering them free space to pitch their own election platforms and help the community to become familiar with them.
The next council will serve for four years.
Voting will take place in the foyer of the Art and Margaret Fry Recreation Centre on Oct. 17 from 8 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. The advance poll will be held at the same place, at the same hours, on Oct. 10.
Editor's note: Dan Davidson is listed as a director of the Klondike Sun.