Ed. note: this is one of a series of riding profiles for the Nov. 7 election being published in random order.

Voters in Whitehorse West were clearly left-leaning when party politics were introduced to territorial elections in 1978.

For five consecutive elections, they elected New Democrat Tony Penikett, who first served as government leader beginning in 1985, when the NDP toppled the Conservatives.

Penikett and his party held onto the government in 1989 but lost to the Yukon Party in 1992, though Penikett was re-elected to his fifth term as MLA.

Only once has Whitehorse West hugged the centre line, in the Liberal landslide of 2000.

Ever since, it has gone with the Yukon Party and Elaine Taylor. It wasn’t even close in 2011, when Taylor was elected to her third term – doubling the number of votes of her closest competitor.

Taylor is seeking her fourth term. Richard Mostyn is running for the Liberals and Stu Clark is seeking the seat for the NDP.

Elaine Taylor

Taylor says that being an MLA, a member of the territorial cabinet and mom to an 11-year-old boy doesn’t leave a lot of time for other things.

But it’s what she loves to do, says the 48-year-old, who’s seeking her fourth consecutive term in office.

“For me, it’s about continuing to listen and work on behalf of my constituents.”

Taylor says in the last 14 years, Whitehorse West has undergone an enormous change in its makeup.

The whole territory has undergone change, and not just in population growth, but also in the increase in the number of jobs, businesses, along with the expansion of neighbourhoods.

The Ingram subdivision wasn’t even there when she was first elected in 2002, she points out.

Taylor says with increasing growth comes a mounting demand for services and infrastructure – and her party has kept pace.

It’s been able to manage the growth, and the territorial budget, even through economic slowdowns seen across the country and the world, she says.

“It’s about working with like-minded people throughout the territory and working on behalf of Yukoners,” says Taylor. “The job is never-ending, but for me, I love what I do.”

She points out she’s had a variety of responsibilities over the last five years as the minister responsible for several different portfolios, including Community Services, Education, and the Women’s and French Language Services directorates.

“I can tell you they have all been extremely important to me,” she says.

“You know, no matter what the file I am asked to work on, I take it very seriously; I do my research and I try to bring others to the table and move it forward.”

Taylor says her work on the issue of violence against indigenous women and girls is particularly close to her heart.

Continuing to expand educational opportunities for students with more experiential and flexible programming, such as the Blended Living program in Watson Lake, is a priority, she says.

Raised in Watson Lake, Taylor has been an outright supporter of the Yukon Party going back to 1992, when she started working with the party caucus.

She says she supports the party because it has shown the ability to take a balanced approach.

Stu Clark

Clark may be relatively new to the Yukon, having lived here for fours years. But he’s not new to fighting for others.

A food technology engineer by trade, Clark has spent most of his life working on food issues globally. That includes helping improve production for smaller farmers in countries like Nepal, Bangladesh, Ethiopia and other African countries.

“I have worked to improve the trade relations affecting those farmers at the World Trade Organization,” says Clark.

He says he’s also worked on global issues affecting human rights.

The 69-year-old Clark sums up quite simply his decision to move here with his wife from Winnipeg: after living for a time in the Nepal, the love of the mountains; two of his three sons live here, one of them being the owner of Icycle Sports: his love of cross-country skiing, and the network of trails here.

A board member with the Yukon Development Education Centre and chair of the social justice committee at the Whitehorse United Church, Clark was drawn to make himself available to the NDP as a volunteer initially and then as a candidate after the party asked him to run.

He sees the troubles low-income Yukoners face in accessing affordable housing.

Clark says he’s constantly hearing concerns about health care, and long-term solutions for palliative care beds, beds that are currently taking up space at Whitehorse General Hospital.

Support, he says, should be given to the provision of more assisted living opportunities for Yukoners who are able to live on their own with a little support, such as the proposal being developed by the Vimy Heritage Housing Society.

Residents in the riding are concerned about the number of times the Yukon Party is awarding contracts to companies Outside that bring up their own work force when the skills are available locally, Clark says.

He favours the pursuit of more renewable energy alternatives to reduce the territory’s dependency on fossil fuels. He also wonders about the lone wind turbine on top of Haeckel Hill that turns slowly, “all by itself.

“I just think in the 21st century we need to make better use of these kinds of things,” says Clark.

Richard Mostyn

To a large degree, the issues being raised in the riding of Whitehorse West are the same issues being raised across the territory, says Mostyn.

The first-time Liberal candidate says the economy, the environment and the government’s penchant for fighting with First Nations, fighting with Ottawa and fighting with community groups like the French community are all matters being raised at the door.

For the sake of the territory’s future, it’s time to stop fighting, says Mostyn.

“Until we can get to a better relationship with First Nations and our communities in this territory, we are not going to be able to fix the Yukon.”

He says the territory’s economy is one of the nation’s worst.

The Yukon was built on mining – but there is no mining, says Mostyn. He says he believes the certainty the industry relies on has been destroyed.

Mostyn says problems with the health care system – access, lack of planning – are being raised on the door step.

Contractors and tradeworkers are expressing concern about watching jobs on major government projects being filled by workers from down south while they’re unable to find work.

Teachers graduating from the degree program offered through Yukon College aren’t being hired, and education assistants are having a hard time, feeling under-represented, he says.

Mostyn says a lot of specific issues with the education system are being raised, including violence in schools.

The 52-year-old former editor of the Yukon News who now works in communications with the health and compensation board moved to the riding with his wife and two sons 20 years.

For the past nine months, he’s been out talking to neighbours and residents.

Mostyn says after leaving the paper in 2012, he wanted to become involved in the political scene as someone who’d been a critic for decades.

He found comfort in the Liberals.

“It’s a progressive party, and I like that,” he says. “I like the fact it is not afraid of development and business but also has a social conscience and a desire to protect the environment. I like that.”

Mostyn said when he first started working for the party, there was but a handful of volunteers.

Under the leadership of Sandy Silver, “we have built this new Liberal machine that is quite extraordinary,” he says. “We have thousands of people supporting us now.”