Yellowknife is about to have its second female mayor in history. Monday night, Rebecca Alty came up with the victory in the mayoral election. After spending two terms as a council member, Alty will take the next step and replace current mayor, Mark Heyck.
She received 2,938 votes, while the other candidates Adrian Bell, Bob Stewart and Jerald Sibbeston ended the night with 2,210, 102 and 93 votes respectively. Several hours later, Alty says she still doesn’t know how to react.
“A lot of excitement and very humbled by the support. It’s just all a mishmash up there as I’m taking my second sip of coffee and trying to process it all.”
The new mayor says she is excited to see such a variety of people elected to council, including new and old faces.
“There’s just a mix in so many other ways too, with I think we’ve got somebody with a focus on arts and culture, and on the environment and business and there’s some gender splits, and sorts of stuff. I think it’s going to be a good team to work with.”
Alty says she hopes to hit the ground running going into the new term, and has three initial goals to work on.
“First is the councillor orientation, and making sure everybody’s in the know on what council does and the rules and procedures and stuff. Particularly because we did just have some changes to our council procedures and council code of conduct. Then there’s budget 2019, not a little task. But that hits us right from the start. And then creating that strategic plan. So what does council want to accomplish this term so we can start implementing it.”
During the election, Yellowknife residents also voted on a bylaw to extend the term of council from three to four years. People chose to add the fourth year, and Alty is excited for the opportunity it presents.
“Both my past two terms that third year you’re really getting into that groove, really getting things moving and then there’s the election and basically a month, two months is lost. So now to have that extra year to continue that momentum, I think we’ll be able to see some great results.”
Alty also wants to be sure that the residents knew that she is thankful for the opportunity.
“Thank you Yellowknife, I’m looking forward to the upcoming term. I’d like to thank the other candidates who presented for mayor. It’s not easy, it takes a lot of work, so I’d like to thank Adrian, Bob and Jerald for running great campaigns and all the work the put into it.”
The new council will begin its new term on November 1st.
