Clarence Wood has been acclaimed mayor of Inuvik.
The announcement came via the Town of Inuvik’s Facebook page.
“It’s a great honour,” said Wood, a longtime councillor. “I am looking forward to serving the residents of Inuvik for the next three years.”
Inuvik Drum inquired to chief returning officer Chidi Amobi about the status of the mayoral race and was told the town was still working out details and would have an announcement shortly. She did not confirm nor deny Wood had been acclaimed.
Wood later confirmed to Inuvik Drum he was waiting to hear the results of an investigation into a second mayoral candidate and had not been acclaimed at the time. However, the town quietly updated its notice to state Wood had been acclaimed on its Facebook page. The municipality never provided an update to Inuvik Drum.
Wood told Inuvik Drum he received notice of his acclimation at 1:47 p.m. on Sept. 22.
Senior Administrative Officer Grant Hood said the mix-up was a result of the town awaiting confirmation from the GNWT.
“We were awaiting information from Yellowknife regarding the extension of the nominations and reporting,” he said. “As a result we then able to announce officially the acclimation for the Mayor position.”
The town has extended the nomination period for the positions of town councillor and district education authority until Sept. 27. The municipality stated on Sept. 20 that not enough candidates had put their names forward to either have an election or fill the required positions.