Kevin Iksiktaaryuk came second in Baker Lake’s 2019 municipal election for mayor, losing out to Richard Aksawnee by 46 votes.
He got back on council due to a vacancy in 2022, and now he’s aiming for the mayor’s seat again alongside candidate James Taipana.
“I’m running for mayor because I want to continue the good work that our hamlet has been doing,” said Iksiktaaryuk.
Born in Baker Lake, he also previously served on hamlet council in 2017 and has worked for the Government of Nunavut and Qulliq Energy Corporation.
But it was his time at Nunavut Sivuniksavut that steered him toward politics and ignited his passion to do good for his community.
“I like to help people,” said Iksiktaaryuk, adding that his priority is to improve engagement with residents through better communications from the hamlet. “I feel like we can always improve communication, just to streamline things and make things easier for the community.”
His next priority would be economic development and developing five-, 10- and 20-year strategic plans for infrastructure, economic growth and social programs.
“Transparency is an important thing for me,” said Iksiktaaryuk. “If I get elected into office, I want to help educate the community on what hamlet’s capable of, but also what our limitations are.”
There are a lot of expectations to fix problems, but the hamlet doesn’t always have the resources to tackle certain issues and runs a fairly right budget, he said. He’d like to keep meeting minutes updated and increase the hamlet’s “social footprint” in the community.
“My time at council has been very educational for me in how municipalities run, running a balanced budget and all the different subcommittees that exist,” he said.
Taipana declined an interview with Kivalliq News.
Candidates for Baker Lake’s hamlet council include Eva Elytook, David Owingayak, Adham Adose, Trevor Attungala, Aquilla Amaruq, Michael Akilak, Becky Tootoo, Siobhan Doherty-Iksiktaaryuk. Eric John Tapatai, Salomonie Pootoogook, Michael Mautaritnaaq and Grace Tagoona.
The municipal election is scheduled for Oct. 23.