Serge Michaud is not shying away from making campaign promises in putting his name forward for the Oct. 15 municipal election, but they have little to do with taxes or city services.

Rather, in announcing his candidacy for one of six councillor seats on Thursday, Michaud is focusing on what residents want from the city.

“When I get elected to council, I promise to represent our city in the best way possible; I promise to represent your concern in the best way possible and I promise to listen and learn from you,” the 40-year-old said in his announcement.

Originally from North Bay, Ont., Michaud grew up in Montreal, where he lived until 16 years ago.

That’s when he moved to Whitehorse to take on the job of executive director with Special Olympics Yukon, a role he continues to hold and enjoy in a city he, his wife and two stepsons love.

As he pointed out, it was his 16th anniversary of being in Whitehorse that he announced his candidacy.

It’s a desire to contribute to the community that he noted has given so much to his family that prompted him to run for office.

“I think I can contribute,” he said, noting his work with Special Olympics Yukon has given him valuable experience in fiscal responsibility, sustainability and being accountable.

Given his position with Special Olympics, he acknowledged that there may be a perception his decision to run was spurred by the issue of the proposed outdoors sports complex in Whistle Bend that the city turned down zoning for earlier this year.

He said he’d be lying if it wasn’t part of it, he noted, but it’s “not just the sports complex,” but that desire to contribute to the overall community.

“It’s a decision I do not take lightly,” he said, noting that his focus on council is on the entire city.

Using the sports complex as an example, he noted that while he may see it as being a big benefit to Whitehorse, if 90 per cent of residents are telling him it’s not something that should go ahead for a variety of reasons, as a councillor, he would listen and consider those reasons.

Michaud acknowledged he does not have all the answers for the long list of issues facing the city: housing, aging infrastructure, street cleaning, community safety, crime, accessibility and so on.

As he stated in his announcement: “Can we tackle all of these issues at once? Solve them overnight? No way. I’m not going to stand here and tell you I can fix all of these problems and that I will make everyone happy. If I could, I should probably tell you I know how they get the caramel inside a Caramilk candy bar.

“Here’s the reality. Nobody can tell you they have the solution to all these issues. I want to listen to what the people of Whitehorse feel strongly about. We need a plan.”

Michaud then noted the importance of looking at issues long-term and developing a plan for three years, five years, even a decade or more into the future.

City buildings are a good example of that, he said, wondering what would have happened to the former Stan McGowan Arena (which was demolished) had the Canada Games Centre not opened in 2005.

He also noted there is a lot of confusion around the city’s building consolidation plan, which would see the city move all of its operations and services into two locations.

Michaud noted there seems to be a major focus on the $55-million price tag attached to the project.

He would like to look at the project in greater detail, noting that if money has been set aside and/or is available for it, and it could save the city operational costs in the future, then it may be a benefit depending on a number of factors, such as how long it might take to realize the savings.

Voters will not see any campaign signs from Michaud over the next month.

As he pointed out, with two elections in the same period (the federal vote is set for Oct. 19), “... I just don’t think Whitehorse needs yet another colour of signage gracing neighbourhood lawns and roads.”

He has, however, launched a Facebook page to get out the word on his campaign.

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