Eight hopefuls sign up to be named to Iqaluit council
Councillors expected to choose from applicants next week; seat became vacant when Jack Anawak resigned
Eight Iqaluit residents have registered to be considered to fill a vacancy on city council. (File photo)
Eight Iqaluit residents have signed up, hoping to be appointed to fill a city council seat that has been vacant for three months.
The deadline to register to be considered for the seat was Thursday, and the City of Iqaluit released a list of candidates late Friday afternoon.
City council is expected to review the applications at its next meeting Tuesday night, which will be livestreamed, and inform the successful candidate Wednesday.
The seat on the eight-member council became vacant when Jack Anawak, who was elected in the Oct. 23 municipal election, resigned Nov. 6 after he was charged with impaired driving.
The candidates to replace him are Amber Aglukark, Colin Allooloo, Lili Weemen, Matthew Clark, Nicole Giles, Swany Amarapala, Noah Papatsie and Lewis Falkiner-MacKay.
Falkiner-MacKay finished in ninth place in the October election, earning 525 votes compared to 635 for eighth-place Anawak.
After Anawak’s resignation, Falkiner-MacKay said, “I would be happy to take on the position on council if chosen.”
Papatsie, who is legally blind, claimed in November he was unable to run in the municipal election due to the inaccessibility of the Elections Nunavut website. He is a former city councillor.
Amarapala was appointed to council in December 2022, filling Mayor Solomon Awa’s seat after he was appointed mayor due to the resignation of Kenny Bell. Amarapala ran for council in 2023 but finished in 10th place, behind Falkiner-MacKay, with 474 votes.
Under the Nunavut Elections Act, council had two options to fill the seat vacated by Anawak. Councillors can appoint the runner-up from the last election or issue a public call for applicants.
Last year, council directed city staff to formulate a proposal for a policy to be used in filling council vacancies.
Since then, council has rejected two policy proposals. Both drafts included a provision to allow council to appoint a candidate from the last election who was not elected.
Even without a permanent policy in place, council issued the callout for candidates on Jan. 29.
MOST RECENT MUNICIPAL ELECTION RESULTS:
525 votes two weeks before (MacKay)
474 votes two weeks before (Amarapala)
436 votes in 2009 (Giles)
410 votes two weeks before (Clark)
183 votes in 2017 (Papatsie)
90 votes two weeks before – for mayor (Weeman)
0 votes ever (Aglukark)
0 votes ever (Allooloo)
But you know who the councillors will pick. Aglukark and Giles or Aglukark and Allooloo. Papatsie might be a back up.
Watch them resign before the end of their term…
Haven’t we done this before? A few times?
Looks like you called it.
they only outcomes out of this were going to be someone who got less votes than Lewis.
or someone that didn’t run
a few on council weaseled their way out of getting Lewis for whatever reason.
I hope Iqaluit remembers and those councilors never end up on council again.
What a monumental undemocratic embarrassment. And a LOT of people are talking about it.
Good luck next election you children.
All members of the current council should be slighted for undemocratically and unethically delaying the filling of missing council position. Budgets have been prepared, committes have been struck without input from the ninth councillor.
Furthermore, it is absurd, beyond absurd, that the department of CGS did not intervene in this miscarriage
What is needed is a change to the legislation, so a job for our MLAs if they are willing to support democracy at the municipal level. What happened in this situation is what happens when you leave the option to politicians to pick between a democratic option and a non democratic option. If they do not like the result of choosing the democratic option, they will pick the undemocratic one. That is why we always need to fight for democracy, we can never assume we have it and we can rest, and that is also why democracy should be a requirement and not an option.
They will pick Aglukark or Alooloo. Not because it’s the democratic thing to do but for entirely the wrong reason. And if they believe in democracy Aglukark or Alooloo shouldn’t accept. And shouldn’t have put their name forward.
“Will the real CB (Cory Bell) please stand up” -(not) authorized by Eminem
Care to share your wrong reasons? Its obvious its already undemocratic, so what are you implying the reason being?
Nunavut politicians. Laffing stock b.s..
Coming up next on Iqaluit’s Next Top Councillor… the water challenge.