There will be a diverse cast of characters comprising Whitehorse city council for the next few years.

A mixture of old and new have optimism high amongst the winners of Thursday’s elections... and even some of the losers.

Two newcomers – Mellisa Murray and Michelle Friesen – dominated the polls Thursday in the race for the six council seats. Between them, they add both a First Nations and Asian perspective, along with contributing toward a gender-balanced council.

A familiar face ­– Dan Boyd – was third – with Ted Laking, Jocelyn Curteanu and Kirk Cameron rounding out the top six.

Murray dominated the race from beginning to end, finishing with 3,456 votes.

Friesen was next at 3,080 votes, while Boyd had 2,950.

There was a logjam of votes between Laking and Cameron. They narrowly edged out former councillor Doug Graham for the final positions.

There was more of a gap between the candidates after those top seven candidates.

“I’m pretty excited,” Murray said as she spoke from home Thursday night. “I’m just honoured and overwhelmed.”

Murray said her priorities after being sworn in on Nov. 1 and receiving some orientation and training are the housing crisis and helping city residents to achieve healthier lifestyles.

“I think we’re going to see huge strides,” she said.

Murray said she likes the look of the new council.

“It’s definitely more inclusive and diverse.”

The Star also reached a jubilant Friesen at home. She was elated at her success, which more than made up for a valiant attempt last spring to win an NDP MLA seat in the territorial election.

“I just tried to stay positive through the campaign,” she said. “I had a lot of amazing volunteer help.”

In what would become a prominent theme amongst the newly-elected representatives, Friesen said she is very impressed with the makeup of the council.

“I’m just excited to be part of the new team,” she said, pointing to its gender balance.

As did Murray, Friesen said she views the housing crisis as the most critical item facing the new council.

Boyd finished a strong third in the voting.

“The first step is to get together with the new mayor, councillors and administration to begin to start to forge a team and begin a strategic planning process,” he said.

“The capital and O&M budgets will need to be prepared for this coming year.  Administration will have most of the information ready to begin working with the new council on both budgets. These budgets will determine the tax rates for next year.

“Administration will be providing a steady stream of briefings to the new council to get them up to speed on all the issues in front of them,” Boyd added.

“For new members (and returning councillors),  there will be orientation  and training sessions.  The next few months will be a busy time.”

The re-elected Curteanu said she was “very excited to work with the new council.

“I’m very grateful to have another term to work with,” she added. “It’s a very balanced council. I hope people took note of the work I did over the last term, and that’s why they voted for me.”

She cited the budget, which the council will have to approve fairly quickly as a top priority, along with strategic planning and tackling the troubling housing issue.

“All of this needs to get done,” Curteanu said.

“I will continue working hard for the city and its citizens in municipal governance, and build consensus with my council colleagues on priorities and direction so that we can hit the ground running. 

“Also, as an incumbent city councillor, I will offer support and guaidance to new councillors to help them transition into their new roles.

“I can appreciate the steep learning curve but the sooner we can get them up to speed, the sooner we can start tackling some of the immediate issues like hiring a new city manager (Linda Rapp is retiring) and budgets.” 

Cameron – a former councillor – was embracing that enthusiasm for the new council and a fresh term as well.

“It’s wonderful,” he said. “It’s a wonderful council with good people.”

Cameron said he was focused on issues both short-term and long-term.

“There’s a lot to do in our city, things we have to get right.

“I’m looking not just for the next few years of this term, I’m looking 10 to 15 to 20 years down the road at things like climate change and other issues.”

Graham finished just behind Cameron in the polls. For much of the evening, the two men, along with Laking, were within 10 to 20 votes of each other.

Laking said this morning he is “incredibly honoured” to have captured one of the seats.

He’s a veteran behind-the-scenes political activist, best known for his work with the Yukon Party.

“It was a bit of a nail biter all night long,” he said of the numbers.

While he hasn’t made a final decision as yet, Laking said he’s likely to reduce his workload with the party to better balance his work and life commitments to his young family.

“I have to thank my wife for being my greatest supporter,” he said. “She’s made a lot of sacrifices in the last month-and-a-half for me to do this.”

Laking said his immediate priority, taken from what he heard going door-to-door, is to address what is perceived as a growing property crime problem.

“I intend to raise that at the first council meeting. The time of sitting back on this issue is gone.”

Laking said he also heard council needs to focus on traditional “bread-and-butter” issues such as snow-clearing, and he plans on listening.

Like the other candidates, he’s also focused on ways to create more new housing.

Graham, who spoke to the Star as he was driving home from a hockey game, said he has no intention of challenging the results.

“No, there’s no possibility of that,” he said with a chuckle after pulling over to do the interview. “I’m past that point.”

The former Conservative/Yukon Party cabinet minister added with another laugh that he “predicted five of the six council seats correctly.

“People get what they vote for,” he said. “It’s an interesting group on council, and I’ll be watching to see what happens.”

He said this election marked the last time he intends to run for office.

Janna Swales, who finished well out of the running, said she didn’t find the results disappointing at all.

She’s excited to see the new-look council, and said she didn’t have any regrets in running despite her defeat.

“I have absolutely loved this time reaching out to all kinds of folks and having such a focus into our community,” she said.

“I will continue to engage Yukoners with Yukon transportation history. I’ve been doing some interesting historical research and there may well be a book that needs to be written, either now – or in three years...”

Cam Kos also finished well out of contention.

“I’ll still be following city issues and attending council meetings from the other side of the desks ... to keep up with issues and my understanding of city operations so I will be able to keep giving my input and ideas from the gallery on topics that arise and be ready for the next election,” he said.

Kelsey Hassard-Gammel also finished at the back of the pack, but she wasn’t overly discouraged.

“I will be sure to pass on concerns that I have and have heard to the council that does get elected,” he said. 

“I will make notes of things I wish I knew before I had started the process so that I can be better prepared next time.”

Robin Reid-Fraser, another unsuccessful candidate, said “I will stay engaged with my current work and non-profit commitments, and probably start planning how else to contribute to the well-being of this city.”

Eileen Melnychuk also said she will continue with her efforts to make Whitehorse a better place to live.

“I will continue to advocate for the livability of our city, and to explore options to mitigate our housing crisis,” she said.

“I already have meetings planned with developers and business owners to discuss housing and to address our downtown parking shortage.

“I also plan to continue my work supporting women’s organizations such as the Victoria Faulkner Centre, and the development of the NGO Hub, as well as being part of the development and expansion of our circular economy through my involvement with the Whitehorse Thrift Store,” Melnychuk added.

“I have met with hundreds of residents as I was door-knocking through the city, and hearing everyone’s concerns has really energized me to find solutions.

“My commitment to this city is not limited to having a seat on council, and I look forward to continuing to give back to the community in any capacity I can,” she added.

Michelle Christensen-Toews said much the same thing.

“I will return to some of the projects I have on the go. I will remain interested in the actions and decisions of the mayor and council and will participate, where possible, in engagement sessions that may form the future of our city.”