Cabinet minister Currie Dixon announced Wednesday he will not be running in the upcoming territorial election.

Dixon is the Community Services minister, minister of the Public Service Commission and the Yukon Party MLA for Copperbelt North.

He is the second cabinet minister to announce he will not be seeking re-election following last week’s announcement by Education Minister Doug Graham.

“Serving Yukoners as a minister and serving my constituents as MLA over the past five years has been an incredible honour,” Dixon told the Star Wednesday afternoon.

“But after five years in this role, I’m ready to explore new opportunities and take a new path.”

Dixon isn’t entirely sure where that new path might take him, and isn’t ruling out a later return to politics.

While he’s enjoyed and is proud of the work of the Yukon Party over the last five years, he said, he’s ready to move on to something new “outside the world of politics”.

While Dixon’s career as an MLA may span only one term of office, he has extensive experience behind the scenes.

In 2008, after graduating from Saint Francis Xavier University with a Bachelor of Arts with honours in political science and history, Dixon was back in the territory and worked as a political advisor in the government’s cabinet office.

He went on to complete a Master of Arts degree in political science from University of Northern British Columbia and was soon back in the cabinet office as the senior policy advisory to the premier. He remained in that role until the 2011 election, when he won his seat.

Dixon is not ruling out the possibility of going back to school to pursue a PhD in the future. With a young family and a mortgage to pay, he noted, that’s not likely to happen right away.

After spending the better part of his 20s studying and being part of the political world, Dixon said he’s ready to try something new and is open to possibilities that may come his way.

He has not yet sought other employment, he said.

Reflecting back on his sole term, Dixon said as a whole, he’s proud of the work the government has done. There were a number of successes, he said, but the thing he’s most proud of was the government's strong fiscal management.

“We’ve lived within our means,” he said, pointing out that the territory is the only jurisdiction in the country to not have any net debt.

He acknowledged it will be a challenge for the next government to continue with that, and noted his belief that the Yukon Party is the best party to keep the territory out of debt.

“We need to avoid debt,” he said.

While he’s proud of his party’s record, he admits there are some issues he would have handled differently.

“We definitely didn’t bat .1000,” he said.

Of particular note, he pointed to the proposed outdoor sports complex the government had proposed to build in Whistle Bend.

The facility had been planned to include two artificial turf soccer pitches and an eight-lane rubberized running track in phase 1 at an initial cost of $8 million (with plans later changed to bring it down closer to $5 million).

The facility would have been operated by the Yukon Outdoor Sports Complex Association, with user fees in place to pay for the operations.

The project required a zoning amendment of the city, which council voted down following extensive debate over the project.

At the time, Dixon noted his disappointment in council’s vote, which meant the project would not go ahead as planned.

On Wednesday, Dixon said that at the time, the zoning had seemed like it would be a “slam dunk.”

Had he known what the city’s position would be, he said, he would have given more thought to potential locations for the facility, perhaps looking for an area that wouldn’t require a zoning change.

Dixon remains hopeful the project will eventually proceed. He again stated he believes the Yukon Party will “find a path forward” for the facility.

Only one potential candidate has declared plans to take Copperbelt North in the election, with Raj Murugaiyan seeking the Liberal party nomination.

Meanwhile, Patti McLeod, the Yukon Party MLA for Watson Lake, said Tuesday she will seek the party’s nomination for the election.

“It has been an honour to represent the residents of southeast Yukon and serve as the MLA for Watson Lake,” said the single-term MLA.

“I have always put the needs of my constituents first, and I will continue to do so.”

McLeod became the Speaker of the legislature last month after predecessor David Laxton quit the role and the Yukon Party caucus, saying he had been accused of sexually harassing a woman.

The party said earlier this month it will not allow him to seek its nomination in Porter Creek Centre.

Laxton has not indicated whether he will run as an independent.

As well, following a 21-day open nomination period, Mark Beese has been acclaimed as the Yukon Party candidate for Riverdale North.

“I’m very excited to have the opportunity to run in the upcoming election,” the local businessman said today.

“I would be honoured to be able to use my experience to represent the residents of Riverdale North.”

Rod Snow, a Whitehorse lawyer, is seeking the NDP nomination for the seat, currently held by the Yukon Party’s Scott Kent. He plans to run in Copperbelt South, now represented by the NDP’s Lois Moorcroft.

Nils Clarke, a longtime Whitehorse lawyer with considerable legal aid experience, plans to make an announcement about the election late Friday morning.