Dawson’s mayor accepts electoral defeat

Opting to step aside and give Peter Jenkins “a chance to redeem himself” as Dawson’s new mayor,

Opting to step aside and give Peter Jenkins “a chance to redeem himself” as Dawson’s new mayor, John Steins says he won’t pursue legal action over last Thursday’s municipal election.

Steins was defeated in his run for a second term as the mayor of the community to Jenkins by only seven votes.

Jenkins, who was mayor through many years in the late 1970s through the early 1990s before entering territorial politics, ended up with 267 votes to Steins’ 260.

Outside of Whitehorse, the situation was the same wherever the mayoralty of a community was challenged in the municipal vote – the incumbent being defeated. That happened in Watson Lake, Faro and Teslin as well as Dawson. Other communities saw incumbents return to office by acclamation.

Of the mayoral races, Dawson was by far the closest. Though Steins had initially contemplated a legal challenge over the results, by this morning, he had changed his mind.

“We left no rock unturned and there just wasn’t enough,” he said, noting the votes were counted and re-counted with returning officers going to “great length” to make sure they got it right.

The only outstanding issue outside of the recount, he said, was whether there were any ineligible voters who cast ballots.

With no voters list in Dawson, casting a ballot is done on the honour system after voters fill out a form.

While Steins suspects there likely were some ineligible voters who cast ballots, he said there just isn’t enough evidence to pursue the matter in court.

In retrospect too, he noted, he’s pretty happy to get his life back after more than three years on the job.

That will mean more time to focus on his business as an Internet provider and pursue his art. Though he enjoyed the “tension” of balancing his private and public life, now that that’s gone, he can enjoy those private pursuits more.

Steins was the first mayor to hold the position after the Yukon government fired the council in 2004 and put the town under the control of trustees until 2006. Steins was acclaimed to the mayoralty.

“I feel like I can hold my head high,” he said this morning after conceding defeat.

As he pointed out, it was only by a few votes he was defeated and he’s earned the right to criticize. As such, he plans to continue the Mayor’s Blog he started, using it now to be a “watchdog” on Jenkins.

“And believe me, I’ll be watching,” he said, noting the current council has done all the “heavy-lifiting” on projects like the community’s court-ordered secondary sewage treatment facility.

Taking responsibility for the results, he said that though support for him was there, not everyone made it out to the polls, something that maybe should have been emphasized more through the campaign.

A number of people he ran into during the campaign said they support him, but had also forgotten about the election. There can often be a disconnect between how important candidates like himself view the vote and
how it’s viewed by the general public, he said.

As Steins gets set to turn over the reins to Jenkins, he noted the mayor-designate will have to remember the municipality isn’t run like it was during Jenkins’ earlier terms on council. No longer is it “an old boys’ club”, Steins emphasized, adding both staff and town council are now subject to codes of ethics for each.

“We’re very transparent,” he said.

Steins isn’t ruling out representing the community in the future. Questioned about whether he would run for the office of mayor again in three years, he said he wasn’t sure. In the meantime, he may look at territorial politics, he said.

Jenkins gave little reaction to Steins’ conceding the election.

“He has the right to go either way,” Jenkins said.

As for the first order of business of the new council, that will happen with the swearing-in next Monday.

After that, the new mayor will get down to work, with the new council members acclaimed to their positions on major projects like the sewage treatment plant, the potable water supply and the basic services for the municipality – roads, garbage, infrastructure and recreation, among others, he said.

Serving on Dawson’s council will be incumbents Rick Reimer and Ashley Doiron along with Wayne Potorka, who has previously served on council, and Stephen Johnson.

While Jenkins will wait until the swearing-in ceremony to start his work as mayor, in Watson Lake, mayor-designate Richard Durocher was already at town hall today to get up to speed on council’s work.

Durocher, a former mayor in the town, walked away with a decisive victory last Thursday, taking 329 votes compared to 57 for incumbent Nancy Moore and 37 for candidate Robert Ellis.

The entire council was also overhauled, with voters electing none of the four incumbents who sought office. Instead, Cynthia Armstrong, Howard Fick,

Beverly Lister and Rick Relkoff will serve on the Watson Lake council over the next three years.

“It comes down to the community wanted change,” Durocher said, noting many wanted more input on what’s happening in the community and a long-term vision for the town.

Serving on council for 12 years prior to 2006, Durocher decided it was time for a break and opted not to seek re-election. Before running this time, Durocher said, he was overwhelmed by the support he had, with many continually asking if he was running.

Knowing he’ll be in the community “til the end of (his) days,” Durocher said he decided to run.

It’s a beautiful community, he said, but in need of instilling more pride.

He plans to begin his work as mayor with a town hall meeting to look at what Watson Lake residents want out of a long-term plan for the community.

Admitting the town has been stagnate for awhile as it’s waited for developments in mining, forestry and so on to happen, Durocher said it’s time for the town to start working towards development.

With no chief administrative officer right now and an entirely new council, the learning curve will no doubt be short and steep, but Durocher said a council orientation session should assist with that.

Outgoing Mayor Nancy Moore could not be reached for comment by press time.

Like Watson Lake, voters in Faro cast their ballots in favour of completely overhauling council.

Heather Campbell ended up with 129 votes in her run for mayor compared to incumbent Michelle Vanio’s 50 votes. Former Yukon MLA Mickey Fisher, Diana Pauline Rogerson, Michel Dupont and Doc Forbes were elected.

Like Durocher, the outgoing mayor of Faro said there was a clear message from her community as well that people wanted change.

In a small community, Vanio said, there can often be “a lot of chatter” without much understanding of the processes and timelines involved.

While Faro has been unable to get a gas station up and running and the town continues to be dotted with abandoned buildings, Vanio said, next spring the landscape of the town will be very different.

“People get impatient,” she said.

Looking back at her nine years on council, Vanio said she feels good about her contribution to the community and never compromised on her beliefs.

Vanio won’t be lacking for things to do though, as she heads back to school to study business administration through the Yukon College campus in the community along with continuing with volunteer activities.

Wishing the new council well, she also noted she’s been working closely with the town’s CAO to make the transition as smooth as possible. She also plans on making sure Campbell can reach her if need be for any questions on ongoing projects.

Campbell could not be reached for comment.

Teslin was the other community in the territory to elect a new mayor, with Clara Jules defeating Robin Smarch 89 to 42. Neither could be reached for comment this morning.

Serving on council there will be incumbents Margaret Douville and Stacey Hassard along with Lori Joe and Sharron Anderson.

In other communities, Mayors Elaine Wyatt of Carmacks, Scott Bolton of Mayo and George Nassiopoulos were acclaimed to another term.

The overhaul of the town councils has left the Association of Yukon Communities with several vacancies, but as its president, Whitehorse Mayor Bev Buckway said those left on the board and staff had a meeting this morning to discuss the transition.

While the organization is essentially left without a board until the new councils are sworn in and new members appointed, Buckway said a plan is in place to fill those spots when the time comes.

After staffing those spots, Buckway said she expects that municipalities across the territory will spend the next three years working on issues that range from what might come from the federal Building Canada Fund to staff capacity for the smaller communities.