Legendary musher lopes into political race
Frank Turner says he's about to enter the biggest race of his life.
By Nadine Sander-Green on July 22, 2011
Frank Turner says he's about to enter the biggest race of his life.
Turner, the local dog musher who is known for completing the Yukon Quest 24 times, wants to be the NDP candidate in the Lake Laberge riding in the upcoming territorial election.
Turner made the announcement Thursday afternoon at the Fireweed Community Market with NDP Leader Liz Hanson and his wife, Anne Tayler, by his side.
"Most people know me for my passion around dogs,” Turner told a small gathering. "But my other passions are politics and community.”
Turner said the only way to put his reason for entering politics succinctly is that he has a "deep concern” for the changes happening in the Yukon. The pace of change, he said, seems to be getting away from people's sense of direction.
"I might as well say right now that a lot of people peg the NDP as anti-mining, and that's just not true,” said Turner. " We promote jobs and economy, but also land use planning and resources inherently belonging to Yukon.”
Yukoners need to do more than just focus on short-term economic gains, he said.
Turner said that because the territory is experiencing such a boom, its residents need to carefully look at how much money the territory is getting back, and exactly who is benefiting.
"The (Whitehorse) food bank has longer line-ups than ever right now, and that's saying something,” Turner said.
He stressed he is tired of hearing about child welfare issues and problems with the education system.
"We've had ample time and ample resources to make a difference in these children's lives,” he continued, saying he believes it's all about building trust and working together in government. The health of the Yukon's youth should be one of the biggest priorities, he said.
"As a musher in the Yukon Quest, I learned a lot about teamwork and effective leadership,” he said.
"I am keen to join the strong team that Liz Hanson is building this summer.”
Turner first came the Yukon because he lost a coin toss. He'd wanted to go to Mexico for a vacation before his final year of university (Turner has a bachelor of arts and a masters degree in social work), but ended up heading north instead.
So began his Yukon life.
Turner lived in Pelly Crossing for 10 years and worked with the Selkirk First Nation. In 1995, he became the only Canadian-born musher to win the Yukon Quest, the gruelling 1,600-km race between Whitehorse and Fairbanks.
Turner and his wife have been operating a home-based tourism business in Lake Laberge, Muktuk Adventures, for the past 15 years.
He wants other young Canadians to have the opportunity to create a northern life for themselves.
"We need accessible land for young people so they can start a family and have a small piece of the Yukon dream,” said the potential NDP candidate.
His children, grandchildren and foster children all live in the Yukon. He said they motivate him to work hard to make this a great place to live, both now and into the future.
"We need to think ahead and promote our economy in sustainable ways, work together to create a healthy and happy environment for our great-grandchildren to enjoy,” he said.
Hanson said Turner is a good example of the "depth” of candidates the NDP is gaining.
"I think of Frank doing the Quest 24 times, and I can't even imagine doing it once!” Hanson said, laughing.
"Frank has volunteered on a number of boards and has lived in rural Yukon as well as near Whitehorse. It's great that he's offering to share his skills to serve Yukon people.”
The NDP, however, has a troubled past in the Lake Laberge riding.
In the 1996 election, former school principal Doug Livingston won the riding for the NDP by just three votes over the Yukon Party's Mickey Fisher.
Livingston essentially disappeared from the job and the territory, with no explanation to his constituents. He was eventually found living and working in New England – and having drawn his MLA's salary all that time, until he eventually resigned. The subsequent byelection ushered the Liberals' Pam Buckway into the legislature.
Turner is the first New Democrat to put his name forward in the Lake Laberge riding. A date for the nomination meeting has not been set.
Teena Dickson and incumbent Brad Cathers, currently an independent MLA, will be vying for the Yukon Party nomination for the same riding. Mike Simon is seeking the Liberal nomination.
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