Bill Kendrick elected mayor of Dawson City, Chris Irvin re-elected in Watson Lake

Bill Kendrick will be the new mayor of Dawson City, Yukon.

The former town councillor received 259 votes in Thursday's election, beating out his opponent for the mayor's job, and former council colleague, Stephen Johnson who got 146 votes.

Both men served for a dozen years as councillors.

Kevin Mendelsohn, a member of the Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in First Nation, came in third with 87 votes while 18-year-old Xen Van Nostrand, the youngest municipal candidate in the territory this year, came in fourth with 44 votes.

All four candidates who ran to be councillors in Dawson City are new to municipal politics and were acclaimed. They are Alexander Sommerville, Patrik Pikalek, Elizabeth Archbold and Brennan Lister.

Watson Lake

In Watson Lake, the race for the top job was between the incumbent mayor, Chris Irvin, and a former mayor, Justin Brown.

Irvin was re-elected with 236 votes compared to 151 votes that Brown received.

"I am honoured and I am excited about the next three years," Irvin said.

He said one of the big topics during the campaign was the working relationship with First Nations.

Irvin said it will take time to develop but that the relationship has seen some good progress recently.

"We did some great things during COVID together to help keep our community safe," he said. "So developing that working relationship, very important."

He added that it's important that Watson Lake experience some growth.

"We want to create a nice foundation and good infrastructure for local professionals," he said. "We want to keep professionals in our community and we want them to be able to see a housing market they can rely on."

Five people ran for four positions on council.

Dale Burds with 254 votes, Lauren Hanchar with 316 votes, Thomas Slager with 267 votes and Denina Paquetter with 241 votes will form the new council. Beckie ann Lussier came in fifth with 177 votes.

Teslin

In Teslin, incumbent mayor Gord Curran was acclaimed. He is also president of the Yukon Communities Association.

Curran told CBC News a major project in the community they'll be working on is the $80 million replacement of the Nitsutlin Bay Bridge. He said the village of Teslin will likely expand its boundaries and service area, and finish building its fire hall.

Curran will be joined on council by incumbent councillor Juanita Kremer who garnered the most votes of the five candidates running. She got 81 votes. Luc Johnstone got 69 votes, incumbent councillor Trevor Sallis got 68 votes and Jeff Myke came in fourth with 58 votes. Jenny Roberts finished fifth with 39 votes and will not sit on council.

Mayo

In Mayo, all the candidates were acclaimed.

Trevor Ellis, who was a town councillor, was acclaimed as the new mayor.

All four town councillors were also acclaimed. They include incumbent councillors Jo-Ann Aird, Blair Andre and Brent Chapman as well as newcomer Simeon Paschuk.

Carmacks

Incumbent mayor Lee Bodie won re-election, beating former councillor Tara Wheeler by five votes. Bodie got 64 votes compared to Wheeler's 59.

Bodie said the number one issue in Carmacks is housing.

"We've got to provide people with more places to live," he said.

He added it's not the municipality's mandate to provide housing but it is its mandate to provide citizens with a comfortable lifestyle.

"We've got to get into the housing market, build it, rent it, sell it and get out of it," he said.

Six people ran for four council positions in Carmacks.

Joining the mayor on council will be Justin Lachance, who got the most votes of the council candidates with 85, Doris Hanson who finished with 79 votes, Kevin Unterschute with 74 and Helena Belanger with 69 votes. Lorraine Graham and John Laughlin Jr. each finished with 49 votes.

Haines Junction

Bruce Tomlin easily won the mayor's job in Haines Junction, receiving 61.5 per cent of the votes. He finished with 157 votes, well ahead of rival Kari Johnston who finished with 77 votes and incumbent mayor Thomas Eckervogt, who finished with 21 votes.

Johnston was an incumbent councillor.

Tomlin was not an incumbent councillor but did sit on council from 2000 to 2009 and again from 2012 to 2016.

During the campaign he said he would like to see the town grow in a fiscally responsible way, adding he would focus on roads, taxes, sewer and water, and a pool.

Three candidates were acclaimed to sit on council in Haines Junction. They are incumbents Angie Charlebois and Mark Nassiopoulos, and newcomer Vicky Maynes.

A fourth seat on council remains vacant.

Faro

Jack Bowers was elected mayor of Faro, easily beating opponents Leonard Faber, who was the incumbent mayor, and Lisa Snyder, an incumbent councillor.

Bowers received 122 votes compared to 33 for Faber and 47 for Snyder.

Five candidates ran for the town's four council seats.

Paul Medvid received the most votes with 174, while Leif Nyland got 167 votes. Taylor Fetterly came in third with 125 votes and Sarah McHugh came in fourth with 113, edging out Russell Truman who came in fifth with 108 votes.