City councillor-designate Michelle Friesen is nervous but excited to begin her first term on council this afternoon.

Friesen is scheduled to be sworn in to her new role later today at her first council meeting, along with the other six council members.

Friesen received 2,612 votes in the Oct. 21 municipal election, the second-highest among the rest of council. Mellisa Murray, another newcomer to council, received the most votes at 3,011.

In an interview this morning, Friesen said she didn’t have any particular agenda, though she campaigned on the provision of affordable housing, accessibility and climate action, among other issues.

The first order of business for her is to get to know her colleagues on council and from there, work with the team to conduct the business of the city.

“This is my first meeting, so I am really looking forward to it, I am excited,” she said.

“I think city administration has done a really good job of onboarding us. They did a good job of getting us ready.”

Friesen said she loves connecting with people, and being a city councillor is a great opportunity to connect with everybody who calls Whitehorse home.

The 30-year-old member of the Ta’an Kwach’an Council said she’s hopeful that her representation will encourage more women and Indigenous youth, knowing they are represented in making decisions on behalf of Whitehorse.

“We will need to come together and figure out what the priorities are for the city,” she said.

Friesen said strategic planning will need to occur.

City administration provided two days of orientation regarding the role of council members – the past Saturday and the previous Saturday.

The orientation was a learning opportunity, as well as a chance to meet some of the city administrators, she said.

Friesen said the city does a lot of good work, and the orientation helped her to learn more about the city’s affairs.

There are a lot of moving pieces to the city, Friesen said.

“I am excited and nervous,” she said, adding she is looking forward to learning her role and learning from the residents of the city. “That, I guess, will start tonight.”

Friesen said she will be about making good decisions that will benefit Whitehorse.

“I just look forward to working with council,” she said. “We will need to come together and figure out what the priorities are for the city.”

It’s been 30 years since there was an Indigenous council member, with Ed Schultz of the Little Salmon-Carmacks First Nation being the last one, she pointed out.