Just five months after he resigned from city council, Kirk Cameron is contemplating a return engagement.

He has assigned himself a deadline of the end of the month to make his final decision.

However, he confirmed Wednesday he is “99 per cent sure” he will run for council in the Oct. 15 election.

Cameron was first elected in a 2011 byelection following Doug Graham’s departure from city politics to the territorial legislature.

Cameron was re-elected in the 2012 municipal election, placing third for councillor candidates, with 2,363 votes.

His resignation last March came in light of the firings by city manager Christine Smith of two long-time directors with the city, Rob Fendrick and Brian Crist.

At the time, Cameron said he could no longer serve on council as a matter of principle.

It’s a point he continued to stress in an interview Wednesday.

His resignation showed his complete disagreement with the firings of two senior staff members with more than 35 years’ experience between them.

“I think that resonated loud and clear,” he said.

If he’s elected in October, he hopes work could be done to ensure there are more “checks and balances” so that something like the firings would not happen without council’s involvement.

Cameron emphasized while he’s not suggesting any power should be taken away from the city manager, he said he wants council to have a bigger role in those discussions.

His resignation, he stressed, was not a case of him “abandoning ship,” but rather making his position known.

Ready to come back to council chambers, Cameron said he’s spoken with a number of Whitehorse residents who are encouraging him to seek office again.

Along with better “checks and balances” at city hall, Cameron said, there are a few issues he wants to work on if he’s elected to another term.

Those include working to build better relationships with both the business community and the Yukon government that will help the community grow.

There are also a few other projects that began during his time on council that he would like to continue to be involved with. Examples are the initiative to fix up Pioneer Cemetery, including the plans to move the cenotaph from its city hall location to the cemetery.

Cameron would also like to continue his push for a second set of escarpment stairs, perhaps at Hawkins Street, that could help form a loop with the Black Street stairs on the escarpment.

Continuing to develop a vision for the downtown through an open dialogue with all stakeholders is also important to Cameron.

He pointed out the many interests in the neighbourhood, from its residents to those who are there every day to work to the business community and the Yukon government.

As Cameron noted: “It’s owned by all of us.”

While Cameron is setting his sights on returning to council chambers, at least two council members are set to bid farewell.

Coun. John Streicker announced last month he will seek a seat in the legislature – under the Liberal banner – in next year’s territorial election, thus leaving municipal politics after his council term ends in October.

Streicker had the highest number of votes among the councillor candidates in 2012, winning his seat with 2,963 ballots in his favour.

Meanwhile, Coun. Mike Gladish, who took the final sixth councillor seat in 2012 with 1,534 votes (just two ahead of Roslyn Woodcock who had 1,532 votes), has decided not to seek a second term.

Gladish, who also works full-time managing the Whitehorse Cross-Country Ski Club, emphasized this week he is glad he had the opportunity to sit on council and has no regrets.

However, he said it’s a job that can take up 20 to 25 hours a week, sometimes more, depending on the issues council is considering at the time.

Anyone looking at running for council, he stressed, needs to do “their homework” and have a good general sense of what’s happening in the city, rather than running on just one issue.

Council members need to focus on the good of the city as a whole, Gladish said. Over the last three years, he said, he has realized just how the important municipal governance is to society.

Asked what he feels he achieved over his term, Gladish first pointed out that he alone was not solely responsible for the decisions of council.

At the same time, he said he’s pleased that evening transit service is now a reality, a decision made early in this council’s term of office.

The next step, he noted, will be to expand the bus service.

Like anything, though, that will have to come “one step at a time,” he said.

Similarly, he also said he’s pleased with the progress the city has made with waste diversion on a number of fronts.

Among them, for example, changes have been made to the diversion credit system for recyclers in town, cardboard is no longer allowed in the general landfill area and the city is pursuing a blue box recycling program.

While Gladish acknowledged he would have liked to see 50 per cent of waste diverted from the landfill by now, he said the efforts being made to move in that direction are proving effective.

He noted that over the three-year term, council has been faced with some hard decisions, including saying no to zoning for an outdoor sports facility in Whistle Bend. While those decisions weren’t easy, he said he continues to stand by them being in the overall benefit for the city.

Gladish also praised staff for their work, saying Whitehorse is a very well-run city.

On many fronts, he noted, “the city is going in the right direction.”

Meanwhile, the other three councillors have not made up their minds about whether they will seek another term.

Veteran councillor Dave Stockdale, who was first elected in 1983 and is now serving his 11th consecutive term, said with family members visiting this month he is going to “enjoy August” and likely make a decision in early September.

In the 2012 election, Stockdale placed fifth with 1,650 votes.

Coun. Jocelyn Curteanu also cited early September when asked when she expects to make a decision on whether to seek a second term. In 2012, Curteanu placed fourth with 2,137 votes.

Meanwhile, asked whether she will seek another term, Coun. Betty Irwin replied that’s something she’s also “curious” about.

She noted she has more than a month to decide, with noon Sept. 24 being the final deadline for nominations.

While three current councillors continue to ponder whether they will run again, Micah Quinn is the only potential candidate who has already started his campaign – aptly titled “Win With Quinn.”

He already has a website and Facebook page detailing what he would like the city to achieve.

The 35-year-old Watershed Café owner, who’s also a former teacher, officially launched his campaign earlier this week, noting he wants to give back to the community.

“I feel like I owe this community my skills and service,” Quinn said from the patio of his café.

“As a local business owner, I know what it takes to invest in a community and how it can bring people together. I would like to see more local businesses like mine succeed.”

Having faced a number of challenges over the past year, including being the victim of three break-ins, Quinn emphasized his desire to turn negative experiences into positive ones.

“As a city councillor, I will work with youth advocacy groups, the RCMP and anti-poverty groups to address the causes of crime and how we can make the community safer for everyone,” he said.

Quinn also vowed to be a strong advocate for attainable housing, implementing the curbside recycling service, offering seniors free access to the Canada Games Centre, and promoting sustainable business investment policies for the city.

Quinn is also proposing to contribute 10 per cent of his councillor remuneration to a local charity if elected. He is challenging other council candidates to do the same.

Mayor Dan Curtis is the only person to announce his intention to seek the mayoralty in October, having declared his intentions earlier this year.

Currently in his first term, Curtis defeated four other candidates in 2012 for the job, taking 2,375 votes compared to the 1,100 votes taken by his closest competitor, Rick Karp, president of the Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce.