Newly appointed Mayor Ben Hendriksen was officially sworn in this evening at the city of Yellowknife’s council chambers.
After the swearing-in ceremony, a small gathering of families and friends celebrated alongside the new mayor and city councillors.
Since former-Mayor Rebecca Alty began her MP campaign, Hendriksen had been leading the council as deputy-mayor.
Saxon Chung, who is the corporate communications advisor for the city, told True North FM a few weeks ago that the council would vote to decide next steps to either appoint a new mayor or call a by-election, Chung said.
Chung added that by-elections call for procedures similar to those of a general election and are estimated to cost between $100,000 and $150,000. By-elections would also require about 4 months to prepare and conduct, said Chung.
On May 5, city council appointed Ben Hendriksen to serve as the mayor until the next municipal election in the fall of 2026, “maintaining continuity and avoiding unnecessary expenditures were paramount in their decision,” said the council in a recent joint announcement.
Council has yet to decide whether to fill the resulting councillor vacancy, after a decision was deferred to the next Governance and Priorities Committee (GPC)
