Jenny Hamilton has been many things: an auto mechanic, a writer, theatre technician, a stand-up comedian. Now, she wants to add Whitehorse city councillor to the list.
Hamilton’s bid for council was announced jointly with other members of the Together Whitehorse slate – a group of candidates for council and mayor including Daniel Schneider, Jason Wilneff, and Dan Bushnell, respectively.
She said it was a conversation with Bushnell – who is running for mayor – that prompted her to throw her hat in the ring.
“Just watching the city change, and not for the good, lot of break-ins, a lot of crime, lot of issues other than that, infrastructure, housing, and we've always said we wouldn't go into politics,” said Hamilton. “But then something just got into our guts.”
Hamilton, with the other Together Whitehorse candidates, is running on a platform of improving safety in the city, collaborative governance and fiscal responsibility.
She said she would open up communications channels with the territorial government, who deals with the RCMP.
“You can't throw your hands up and say, not my problem. When it's happening in your city, it is definitely a city problem,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton said she would look for the root cause behind the increase in crime in the city. She listed potential causes, such as homelessness, addiction, and hunger.
“If it's a homeless issue, if it's a drug issue, we need to deal with that, and the city needs to be willing to do what it's able to do, to push that forward,” Hamilton said.
With an eye on other cities which faced infrastructure issues this year – like Calgary, which had to impose water restrictions due to a broken pipe – Hamilton said she’d look at the state of the city’s infrastructure.
As a part of that investigation, she’d be a stickler for proper quotes, she said. Invoking her trades background, Hamilton said it’s bad business to quote one price and charge another. She said she would want to know “worst case scenario” for all budget items.
“I know a lot of people, they love it, but they also hate how diligent I am. But I kept not-for-profits out of the red because of it,” said Hamilton.
Hamilton did work as a Red Seal-certified auto mechanic earlier in her career. She eventually got involved in the arts and was the general manager of the Guild Hall for over a decade. She began doing stand-up comedy there, and she’s been on CBC’s The Debaters four times since.
Mary Sloan has known Jenny Hamilton since Sloan moved to Whitehorse in 1993. Sloan is a retired high school teacher and worked alongside Hamilton at the Guild Hall.
As one may expect, Sloan said Hamilton can solve problems that look insurmountable with a good deal of humour.
“She’s a problem solver,” said Sloan. “I think she would approach the whole job as a councillor with goodwill and goodness towards everybody.”
Contact Talar Stockton at talar.stockton@yukon-news.com
