'I feel and a lot of people feel it's time for change.'

They've both held top jobs in different levels of government. Now Paul Okalik and Elisapee Sheutiapik are squaring off against each other in the race for Iqaluit West.

For Okalik, it's his stiffest electoral challenge yet, after winning easy victories in 1999 and 2004.

For Sheutiapik, it's her first real test at the polls since she beat incumbent mayor John Matthews by 40 votes in 2003. Sheutiapik was acclaimed as mayor for a second term in 2006.

Iqaluit West may be Nunavut's most urbanized riding, taking in most of the city's downtown, Inuksagait Plaza and the racially and economically mixed Lower Base and Lower Iqaluit neighbourhoods.

Okalik, who's served two terms as premier, says he wants to focus on economic and social issues: housing, education, Inuit cultural pride and the reduction of poverty. He's also happy to trumpet Nunavut's 13 per cent economic growth rate in 2007, second only to the Northwest Territories last year.

"We have a great economy," Okalik said in an interview. "Let's use it to get people off welfare and get them working, get them the added education they'll need to take on the jobs that are here and that are coming."

Sheutiapik also wants to focus on social issues in the capital, which sometimes resemble those of a bigger southern city. She's zeroed in on public health, with commitments to battle diabetes and obesity, and pledges to provide more recreational opportunities for youth.

She also wants to figure out why nearly three in four high school students drop out and figure out a way to fight the marked increase in crack cocaine use in the city. To do that, she wants to convene meetings of police, community groups and politicians to try to find answers.

"It shouldn't just be about getting funding [for community groups], it should be about getting stakeholders together to talk about these issues," she said.

Okalik also appears to be angling in on some of Sheutiapik's strengths and reputation as mayor by campaigning on promises to find a permanent replacement for Iqaluit's landfill, ban single-use plastic bags and create a comprehensive recycling program for derelict vehicles.

The city and GN teamed up on such a program this past summer that was a runaway success and the city last month announced plans to phase out single-use grocery bags. The one thing that the city hasn't accomplished is finding a solution for the city's landfill problem, which is said to have five years of life left, but in reality may already be over capacity.

Okalik also wants to see through the construction of a bridge over the Sylvia Grinnell River, which he says will open up access for hunters. Funding for that project was announced by the federal government this past summer.

Sheutiapik said she's running because she says it's time for Okalik to move on after two terms and nine years as MLA and premier.

"I feel and a lot of people feel it's time for change," she said.

As for what happens after the election, Okalik says he'll seek a third term as premier. Sheutiapik won't say if she'll even seek a spot in cabinet, saying she has to get elected first.

For Okalik's part, he talks about experience and using his post as premier to get things for his riding. "When I was first elected, we didn't have a paved road to the airport," he said.

Sheutiapik uses the word "proactive" a lot. She's cultivated an image during her time at city hall as the cheerful mayor who's unafraid to steamroll challenges to her agenda.

She's been relentless driving her long-term planning agenda for the city and that's led to the occasional clash with reluctant city councillors.

Meanwhile, Okalik has come off a bad year where whispers of his temper and dictatorial management style have eroded his standing in the eyes of some.

The most public example came at a now-infamous meeting in Labrador when he called Lynda Gunn, then the chief executive of the Nunavut Association of Municipalities, a denigrating name.

But Okalik says he's learned from that.

"It has been a growing experience and it has helped me in dealing with some issues I've faced since then."