Rick Karp sat quietly in the middle of city council chambers Thursday night, occasionally exchanging casual conversation as his chance to be mayor melted away, slowly but steadily.

Right from the beginning, when the results of the Oct. 11 advance poll were delivered, the dominating support for mayor-designate Dan Curtis was crystal clear. The night's eventual victor had jumped out in front with 190 votes in the advance poll, compared to 99 for second-placer Karp.

It remained so for more than four hours until the last of the 23 polls reported in well after midnight.

"It looks like Dan ran a strong campaign,” Karp said in interview, with results from seven of 23 polls flashing on the big screen directly behind the mayor's chair: Curtis, 643; Karp, 321; Bernie Phillips, 223; Scott Howell, 150; Mandeep Sidhu, 480.

"He is 320 in front,” Karp observed. "So he is pulling away from everyone.”

Indeed.

By the end of the night, Curtis had secured 2,375 votes, or 43 per cent of votes cast for mayor, compared to 1,100 or 20 per cent for Karp's second-place showing.

Karp and his campaign team spent most of Thursday in their headquarters at the Gold Rush Inn, monitoring, emailing, and providing transportation to polling stations for anyone who needed a ride.

Only a handful called for lift.

"I was targeting people who had expressed an interest in the campaign through email and FaceBook,” Karp said.

"There were several hundred people who were active on the FaceBook page, asking really interesting questions.”

All in all, said the long-time president of the Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce, it was difficult to gauge the electorate because everywhere he went, residents gave him a positive reception.

"People here are like that,” he said. "This is Whitehorse. In Whitehorse, we are the happiest people in Canada.”

Though not willing to throw in the towel with just a third of the polls in, the widening gap wasn't lost on Karp.

"It's not over until it's over, but it seems like Dan is pulling away,” he said. "First he was 100 ahead, and now he is 320 up on me.”

It wasn't long before the lead was 400 votes, then 500, and with 13 of 23 polls reporting, Curtis has established a lead of just over 700 votes.

Karp left his chair to congratulate Curtis shortly after the mayor-designate arrived at city hall with results from several polling stations still outstanding, but the result obvious.

Karp stayed, and continued his casual conversations.

The spokesman for the Whitehorse business community built his campaign on the need for financial accountability and restraint on property taxes that have gone up and up and up, year after year after year.

The city, Karp maintained through his campaign, needs new leadership; new direction to face the challenges of a growing city.

City hall does have a role to play in creating the atmosphere for new business initiatives and economic diversification, he insisted.

As the night wore on and the numbers grew thinner at election central in council chambers, Karp's phone rang.

"I'll be home soon,” he told his wife, Joy. "Put the kettle on.”

City manager Stan Wesby came by to shake Karp's hand and acknowledge the candidate's willingness to stand for public office.

"Tough luck,” Wesby offered.

"No, not tough luck,” Karp replied. "I gave it a shot, and I will be back at the chamber, and we'll be seeing you.”

Karp said if there had been fewer than the five candidates for mayor, the numbers would have been different, but probably not the outcome.

"I think Dan still would have won because he had a machine behind him.”

The local business owner said he is happy to return to the chamber.

"This whole thing has been good for the chamber,” Karp said. "It was a wonderful experience for me, and I enjoyed it immensely.

"You have to try everything once.”

The fight, however, is not over by any means, he insisted.

Karp said there are a number of pressing issues staring city hall in the face.

There's still the lack of affordable housing to address, he pointed out.

There is also the safety and security of residents. That issue raised its head during the campaign with recent incidences of residents being accosted on city streets, even during daylight hours, he pointed out.

"Our biggest issue right now is the affordable rental market, and the city has a big role to play in that, and the chamber will be working on that.”

Young Yukoners living Outside for whatever reason who want to return home can't because there's no place to live, or the cost of accommodations is just too high, he said.

Karp pointed out he received a call from one senior on a fixed income.

She feared being forced to leave her home because the landlord was raising her rent to $1,500 a month.

City council needs to make some fundamental changes, he said.

The city, Karp said, is not going to stop growing, and city hall needs to be ready for that.

While he's returning to the chamber, Karp said, he's taking the business of the city with him.