Just as former Yukon Party premier Dennis Fentie did almost five years ago to the day, his replacement, Darrell Pasloski, used a chamber of commerce luncheon as the backdrop for the announcement.
If there were any awkward moments - Pasloski just fired Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce chair Gerrard Fleming as the party's candidate for Mount Lorne-Southern Lakes earlier this week - nobody mentioned it. (Fleming told the Yukon News it was because of an old wrongful dismissal case.)
The right-wing Yukon Party is gunning for a third term in power, but Pasloski has no political experience and must win a seat himself if he wants to keep his new job.
Given the government's general unpopularity and poor track record of managing money and the environment, many believe it's time for a change.
A recent poll suggests a tight two-way race between the ruling party and the NDP. The Yukon Party finished a distant third in last December's Whitehorse by-election. No party has ever won a territorial election three times running.
Protection of the Peel watershed will be one of the defining issues of the campaign.
The Yukon Party government has always bucked conservation in the watershed. Although officially saying it respects the planning process, it's ignored deadlines, interfered with departmental submissions and completely dismissed not only the commission's work but public support for large-scale protection.
Both the NDP and the Liberals promise to accept the plan for 80% protection if they win the election.
Changes to the electoral boundaries have added one more riding since 2006, making a total of 19. Ten seats would be needed for a majority. More than half of the ridings are now in Whitehorse where the bulk of the territory's 35,000 people live.
Related stories:
Will Yukon Party accept Peel plan - yes or no?
(Peel Watershed News, Aug. 31, 2011)
Poll points to tight Yukon Party-NDP race
(Peel Watershed News, Aug. 10, 2011)
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