Second non-incumbent announces candidacy

He won’t be part of a slate of candidates running on a single platform in the municipal election, but Graham Lang still wants to have a voice inside council chambers.

He won’t be part of a slate of candidates running on a single platform in the municipal election, but Graham Lang still wants to have a voice inside council chambers.

On Tuesday, the 30-year-old lawyer became the latest candidate in the Oct. 15 election.

Last month, he was looking at getting a slate of candidates together to seek election. Having three or four voices on council rather than one, he argued, would make it increasingly possible for ideas to be implemented.

There wasn’t enough time to get a slate of candidates together though, he said. He still believes it’s a good idea and one he may pursue again in the 2012 election, he told the Star Tuesday.

While he wasn’t able to run a slate, Lang still wants to pursue a ward system for the city in this term of council.

“The main impetus (for running) was the positive response for electoral reform,” he said, noting the numerous phone calls he received earlier this summer after he proposed that different areas of town be represented by a council member. Many callers said they’d love to have someone on council who represents their area.

“There’s so many different areas of town,” Lang said, pointing out many concerns are unique to the neighbourhood.

Wolf Creek residents, for example, have very different issues than those who live downtown, he noted.

If he’s elected to council, convincing other members of the need for a ward system may not be an easy task, Lang acknowledged. He pointed out that people voted in without a ward system may not want to change the status quo. It’s something he’s prepared to pursue, however.

Lang also plans to move toward more sustainable living options downtown.

“A lot of people work downtown and would love to live downtown,” he said. More options for downtown living would also be environmentally beneficial, cutting down on commute times, he added.

When downtown apartment-style condos are just a few thousand dollars less than a single-family home in Riverdale though, most people will choose the Riverdale option with more space, he said.

Lang has received mixed reviews of the proposal, with those in the 25 to 35 age range largely favouring sustainable living options downtown while the older demographic is not so supportive.

He noted he would like to keep the character of downtown Whitehorse while recognizing the city is growing and more affordable living options are needed.

While this marks Lang’s entrance into a municipal election, he is no stranger to politics.

In 2005, he was nominated as the Yukon’s federal Conservative candidate. He withdrew when it became clear there wouldn’t be a federal election that summer, and went back to law school. He now works for a local law firm.

He is also the son of Yukon Party cabinet minister Archie Lang and the nephew of Yukon Senator Dan Lang, creating the rare spectre of members of the same family simultaneously involved in all three levels of politics.

He hopes Whitehorse voters will view him in the same light as other family members in politics.

“I’m proud of my uncle’s and father’s contributions to the territory,” he said, noting coming into a campaign with a name like Lang is a positive for him.

Lang has become the sixth person to announce his plans to seek one of the six seats on council.

Skeeter Miller-Wright is the only other non-incumbent seeking a seat, while Councillors Dave Stockdale, Dave Austin, Florence Roberts and Doug Graham are running again.

Coun. Jeanine Myhre has yet to state her plans for the election, and Coun. Jan Stick, whose husband, Ed, recently passed away, has opted not to run, but hasn’t ruled out another run in the future.

Mayor Bev Buckway is also seeking re-election, and remains unopposed with less than a month to election day.

The nomination deadline is Thursday of next week.