Richard Edjericon elected MLA in Tu Nedhé-Wiilideh byelection

Richard Edjericon says he's tired after campaigning for a byelection that made him the new MLA for the Tu Nedhé-Wiilideh riding, but he's "only got a short period of time" and he'll "do the best he can."

According to unofficial results from Elections NWT, Edjericon beat out Ernest Betsina, Mary Rose Sundberg, Nadine Delorme, Clinton Unka and previous MLA Steve Norn, for the seat Norn left vacant when he was expelled from the Legislative Assembly last November.

The assembly ousted him after a public inquiry determined he violated the assembly's code of conduct when he broke mandatory COVID-19 isolation rules and misled the media about it.

Edjericon said Norn called him shortly after all the ballots were counted. 

"He wished me all the best," he said. 

"There's a lot of good people that ran, put their names forward, it takes a lot to put your name forward out in front in the public ... in the end, people spoke."

There were 439 ballots cast in the byelection, with Edjericon taking 186 votes.

Sundberg was second with 99 votes, while Norn had 70 votes, Betsina had 62 votes, Delorme had 12 votes and Unka had 10.

As the MLA for Tu Nedhé-Wiilideh, Edjericon will represent people living in Dettah, Ndilǫ, Fort Resolution and Łutselkʼe until the next territorial election on Oct. 3, 2023. Under typical circumstances, an MLA would have four years in the role instead of 20 months. 

Edjericon has lived in Ndilo since 1993, is a former chief of Yellowknives Dene First Nation and was a band councillor for 10 years. He is also the former chairperson for the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board. 

"I have a good understanding of how things are done here in the North," he said. 

Edjericon said the first thing he's going to do is review the current MLA mandate, the budget, and the five-year capital plan. 

"At this point I just ... want to understand how the process works and get direction from our constituents, Indigenous governments and start working with the premier, ministers and cabinet to look at how we can make the lives in our communities much better."

He said the economy, jobs, housing and the high cost of living are among his priorities.