Longtime postal worker and public servant Ted Adel is seeking the Liberal nomination in Copperbelt North during this year’s territorial election.
Adel said education and health care are among his primary interests, since he has two sons in school and his wife is a health-care worker.
He also wants to strike a balance between developing the mining sector and promoting conservation.
“We have to protect the environment, but resource extraction is still a fundamental part of our economy,” he said.
Adel ran for the Yukon Liberals in the 2011 election in Mount Lorne-Southern Lakes, finishing behind the NDP’s Kevin Barr and the Yukon Party’s Deborah Fulmer.
This time, he said, he has a better sense of how to run his campaign and how to speak with residents. “With everything there’s a learning curve,” he said, pointing out that many candidates don’t win during their first election campaign.
Adel said his primary residence is in Granger, just across the street from the Copperbelt North riding. He said it will be easier to campaign in Copperbelt North than it was in Mount Lorne-Southern Lakes, since people live closer together.
In 2011, he said, he racked up about 7,200 kilometres driving from door to door. Now, he can get to 50 homes in one night.
Adel said he brings “a well-rounded view” to the table, since he has worked as a public servant at the federal and territorial levels and in the private sector.
He first moved to Whitehorse from Ontario in 1992 to help open the Canadian Tire. He has since worked for Superior Propane, and spent 14 years as a mailman for Canada Post.
During the 1990s, he also became president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers’ Whitehorse chapter.
These days, Adel works as a clerk for the Yukon Liquor Corporation three days a week. He said the lighter schedule leaves him the time to run for office.
“I’m at an age where I have the time and energy left to give back to the Yukon,” he said.
Adel has volunteered extensively during his 24 years in the Yukon. He is a member of the Whitehorse Rifle and Pistol Club and the Yukon Fish and Game Association. He has volunteered for Biathlon Yukon and the Kinsmen Clubs of Canada, and as an MC for the can-can dancers during the Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous festival for the past eight years.
He has also been a board member of Ducks Unlimited Canada, and has coached minor hockey and softball.
Adel is the second Liberal contender in Copperbelt North. Raj Murugaiyan, who owns the gift shop at the Whitehorse airport, announced he would be seeking the Liberal nomination last month.
Copperbelt North is currently held by Community Services Minister Currie Dixon, who ousted former Liberal leader Arthur Mitchell in 2011. The NDP has yet to announce a potential candidate for the riding.
Contact Maura Forrest at
maura.forrest@yukon-news.com