1) What made you decide to run for a town council seat?

I decided that I would run for council because after working for the Town of Inuvik for 25 years as the director of public works since 2005, there were things that I think needed to be done. And as an employee of the town, I didn't have the final say in which direction the town took. I always had input into making suggestions but didn't have final say or the ability to vote on projects that I thought should move ahead. As a member of the next town council, I would have the ability to make sure some of these projects move forward. Since I have retired from working, I also have the time needed to do justice to the important position of town councillor.

2) What experience do you bring to the table?

I have lived in Inuvik for most of my life, first moving here in 1963 with my parents. My parents had many different companies here in Inuvik and were involved in lots of building and construction projects here in Inuvik until they retired and moved to Yellowknife to be closer to my mother's family. Working for my parents' companies was great training for the job of director of public works. My father Gordon Campbell served on town council for many terms and was the mayor for a term, so I know what the commitment has to be to do this job well.

3) What do you see as the big issues facing Inuvik this election?

My past experience tells me that we have aging infrastructure like our utilidor system. Most of the older utilidor system has been in place since Inuvik was first built and because it is on wooden piles it is well past the life expectancy of the wood piles and has to be replaced. When I first started with the town, the new utilidor pilings were put six metres into the ground and that was good. Now, because of the warming of the ground, it is now standard to put them in eight metres and that may not be enough. We may have to make the move from adfreeze piles to a different type of pile that can support the weight of the utilidor system without being frost-jacked out of the ground.

The other issue is the drugs that are coming into town and being sold to our people. This is of great concern to me as it affects so many families and has a long-term effect on the health of our hometown. I see drug dealers coming into town and I feel we have to do more to get rid of them. They come here and are here for short periods and move on, but the problems that they create are still here and new drug dealers move in to take their place. 

4) How do you propose that these issues be resolved?

We need to find more money to help speed up the utilidor replacement.Climate change is here and we have to react to keeping our infrastructure so it works and stays working!

As for the drug problems, this is something that we, the whole town of Inuvik, need to work together to make it so there are no longer customers for the drug dealers to sell to. There are programs available to help people who have problems deal with them. Both of the Aboriginal groups in town have made funds available to help with treatment. The Gwich'in have their camp up the river back up and running, I am not sure what they intend to do with it in the long-term but it would make a great treatment facility. We need to make rooms for groups like AA and the like to be able to hold meetings and the like, especially for people just fresh out of treatment. A strong recreation department will be key to making sure that people who have gotten treatment have things to do so they don't fall back into old habits.

5) What is your favourite thing about Inuvik?

My favourite thing about Inuvik is that it is my home to my wife and I, and will remain my home as long as I can afford to live here. I have four sons and three of them live here in Inuvik. I have a lot of grandkids and, so far, one great-grandchild that are here, and I enjoy the things that they are able to do here. It is a safe place with lots of activities for everyone and I want it to stay like this or get even better.

6) Anything else you would like to add?

Inuvik is a great place to live and can be made even better as time goes on. I want to make sure that things happen in a way so that further generations of my family have the same opportunity to enjoy life north of the Arctic Circle, up here in the true North.

The advance vote for the municipal election is Oct. 11 and election day is Oct. 21.