DAWSON City – Robert Service School teacher Sandy Silver will seek the Liberal nomination for the next territorial election in the hopes of improving how the government communicates with rural ridings like the Klondike.

"I believe I can help out in that communication process,” Silver told reporters and Liberal supporters gathered for Saturday's announcement at the Danoja Zho Cultural Centre.

To start, Silver is working to form a local Liberal riding association, and will then seek the nomination in the riding. The first meeting to look at forming the group is set for May 30.

"We're not just appointing people (to run),” said Liberal Leader Arthur Mitchell.

Those wanting to represent the Liberal party in their ridings in the next election will have to seek the nomination and potentially run against other candidates for the nomination as well, he added.

"It would be a competitive process.”

Mitchell said when Silver first approached him with the idea of starting a local Liberal group, he was most impressed with the teacher's desire to effect change for the Klondike.

"I'm pretty excited about it,” Mitchell said of Silver's interest.

Over the past few weeks, Silver has been working to encourage people to become card-carrying Liberal members.

Many in the Klondike seem to be changing their political opinions and want their views represented in the legislature.

The proposed new hospital's location and the staking of mining claims within municipal boundaries are just a couple of examples of issues he cited where he believes the views of those in the Klondike have not been represented in the legislature. He wants to bring the input of Klondike constituents to the house.

Silver suggested he can best do this by running under the Liberal banner. Rather than bringing the Liberal ideas from Whitehorse to the Klondike, Silver hopes to bring the ideas of Klondike constituents back to the capital, he said, with Mitchell echoing his support.

If he's successful in getting the nomination, Silver said, he would work to act in a critic-type role until the next election, when he would seek the Klondike seat in the house.

Though the 40-year-old high school math teacher has no political experience, he said from his discussions around the community, it seems there are a number of people happy to vote for someone who hasn't been too involved in the political landscape.

A Yukoner of 14 years originally from Antigonish, N.S., Silver has spent the past 12 years in Dawson, his experience at Robert Service School bringing with it its own sort of experience that can be transferred to the political realm, he believes.

A teacher, he said, can either choose to simply stay in the classroom and teach the curriculum or also get involved in helping to develop curriculum and/or behavioural plans and the like.

In his case, he has also chosen to be involved with planning curriculum, behavioural plans and so on.

As he envisions a future in politics, he noted he will listen to the concerns of the public.

"I'm a good listener,” he said. "I listen and I try to help facilitate.”

As Dawsonites get set for the May 30 session in Whitehorse, his party is inviting the public, Liberal and otherwise, to an ideas session on May 15 at the Yukon

Transportation Museum.

There, participants will explore potential policies for the party that will then be followed up on.

While participants don't have to be card-carrying Liberals to be part of the idea session, when a follow-up session is held to vote on policies to be adopted by the party, those casting ballots will have to be party members.

Late last week, Darius Elias, the Liberal MLA for Vuntut Gwich'in, said he will seek a second term.