The race to fill the vacant seat on city council has taken on a sixth candidate with almost three weeks to go before nominations close.

Patrick Singh announced his intention to run on Wednesday.

"I decided during the Western Canadian Music Awards,” the downtown businessman and musician said in an interview today.

"I was out and about playing, and a lot of people were encouraging me to run so I thought I would.

"It just reminded me of how vibrant this city can be; everybody was smiling, smiling and happy and we need to see more of that in the city.”

Singh pointed out, however, there are some serious issues facing Whitehorse, particularly the shortage of housing, and providing for those who are hard to house.

He'd also like to see Second and Fourth avenues turned into one-way arteries.

As well, residents of Whitehorse, said Singh, want to see a political process free of name-calling and ill feelings.

As the owner of a local music store and hot dog stand, as a drummer for a local band and who used to publish his own newspaper, Singh said he could bring a well-rounded point of view to city council.

The 48-year-old father said he'll not launch a formal campaign as he did for the Oct. 11 election as the Liberal candidate for Whitehorse Centre.

Rather, he said, he plans to stick to his regular daily routine and use whatever opportunity may arise to let people know why he's running.

Twenty-two sets of nomination papers had been picked up at city hall as of this morning.

The five others who have announced are Cam Kos, Mike Tribes, Kirk Cameron, Norm Hamilton and Ron Pumphrey.

Nominations will close Nov. 10. The byelection is scheduled for Dec. 1.

While pushing the half-century mark, Singh said, he's 18 until he dies, just as famed rocker Alice Cooper put it.

Injecting a little fun into the political process is something he wants to see.

Highlighted in a press release issued Wednesday to announce his candidacy are a couple of his slogans.

"Vote for Singh; Not the same old song,” or "Who's your Paddy?”

In the territorial election, Singh placed third in the Whitehorse Centre riding behind NDP Leader Liz Hanson in first and the Yukon Party's Marian Horne in second.

For the December 2010 territorial byelection in Whitehorse Centre which initially elected Hanson, Singh unsuccessfully challenged Cameron for the Liberal nomination.

A city council byelection is necessary because former councillor Doug Graham will be sworn in as a Yukon Party MLA, along with his new legislative colleagues, on Saturday morning.