Bernie Phillips is hoping the fourth time is the charm and will put him in the mayor's seat.

The former city councillor from 1994 to 2000 announced this morning he will seek the mayoralty in the Oct. 18 municipal election.

It will mark the fourth time the long-time downtown resident has run for mayor.

"The role of the mayor is an important and dynamic position that requires a well-rounded, experienced leader who is familiar with the corporate structure,” the 59-year-old candidate said in a statement.

He recalled that during his two terms on council, the city took on a number of major projects.

Those included the completion of the sewage lagoon, purchasing 31 acres of downtown waterfront property from the White Pass and Yukon Route railway, and working on the landfill site and subsequent Solid Waste Action Plan.

Fluoride was also taken out of the drinking water, the 2007 Canada Winter Games hosted by the city were pursued, and a strike of city workers was settled.

As well, legislation around wood stove emissions was worked on and the agreement that saw the development of the Chilkoot Centre shopping area was signed.

Phillips referred to his first two attempts at becoming the city's mayor in 1988 and 1991 as "practice runs” before he was elected as a councillor in 1994.

After two terms on council, Phillips ran for mayor in 2000. He was defeated by Ernie Bourassa, who won with 1,698 votes.

Phillips came in fourth of six candidates with 1,037 votes.

"When I first ran in 1988, there were three candidates: Don Branigan, Irwin Armstrong and me,” he said.

"I knew I had as much chance at winning as a snowball in a baker's oven.

"Back then, people asked the same question of me as they are now to other mayor candidates. Why not run for council first? I took their advice, got elected and learned how the city is run.”

Phillips noted the budget for the city has "always” been tight.

During his time on council, there was little money for additional projects, but council "kept taxes low, opting to adjust the mill rate lower when prices rose.”

After having watched the city grow steadily over the last decade, Phillips believes it will continue to do so.

Council needs to be fiscally responsible in raising taxes, and must look for ways to save money while bringing more in, the candidate believes.

"I think that the territorial government should transfer more money to the city for operating the Canada Games Centre,” he said.

"It is a first-class facility that serves the surrounding population and attracts visitors from around the territory and Alaska.

"People from Alaska have told me that if they were lucky enough to have something like our multiplex built in their community, they would be paying upwards of $80 per visit. We don't know or realize how good we've got it in Canada.”

Phillips also noted that with Whistle Bend lots set to go on sale and plans underway for development in Downtown South and at the former tank farm site, he expects the housing demand will be assuaged and prices will level off. (The latest territorial government statistics bear that out.)

"There are many people who want to move here as the world outside becomes more strange than fiction,” Phillips said.

"Our beautiful wilderness city is unique and welcoming to so many kindred spirits that we must do all we can to preserve and protect our way of life.”

He noted he wants to work with other levels of government to help the less fortunate find "safe and useful surroundings”.

There should be an open dialogue among the city, the Yukon Housing Corp. and the territorial government for a state-of-the-art alcohol and drug rehabilitation facility.

"A lot of people are hurting in a big way, and as a community, we cannot ignore their cry for help,” he said.

Phillips and his wife, Pam, live downtown and he has been in the city since 1976, involved in various capacities as both a journeyman carpenter and a musician, in addition to his work on city council.

He and his wife bought their first home downtown a year after they arrived.

"All we wanted was a simple log cabin,” he recalled.

"Lucky for us, we found a simple place built in 1908 by one of Whitehorse's pioneers.”

Phillips is a strong advocate for preserving old architecture in the city.

He now has another two-storey log building at Fifth Avenue and Wood Street, where he and Pam operate the Historical Guest House – "a place where travellers can spend the night in a house built in 1907, for the real Sam McGee, by Mike and Tony Cyr.”

During his two stints on council, the city passed its first heritage bylaw.

As a carpenter, Phillips said, he sees the city's new building codes aimed at energy efficiency "as a double-edged sword because extra costs are being passed on to buyers who sometimes cannot afford the expense. You pay up front for future energy savings.”

The latest mayoral candidate noted he doesn't plan to spend a lot on his campaign, and "asks that people give instead to the (Whitehorse) Food Bank or Habitat for Humanity.”

Also running for mayor is Dan Curtis, Skills Canada Yukon's executive director; consultant Scott Howell; Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce president Rick Karp and laundromat manager Mandeep Sidhu.

Councillors' race gains another candidate ...