Yellowknife Centre | Julie Green, Robert Hawkins

A head-to-head matchupis taking placein one of Yellowknife's downtown electoral districts, where former CBC reporter Julie Green, a political newcomer, is taking on three-time incumbent Robert Hawkins.

The two took part in anonline candidates forum Nov. 4, the second in our series.

Yellowknife's main downtown constituencyis a densely-populated area with a large number of transient residents. The city's social issues, including homelessness, mental health and addictions, are felt here most acutely.Yellowknife Centre includes much of the downtown commercial and residential core of Yellowknife.The Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre ishere, as is Mildred Hall School andthe Centre for Northern Families.

Voter turnout has historically been low in this electoral district, hitting just 35 per cent in the 2011 election. A slight boundary change during redistribution has moved about 60 single-family homes from the Great Slave constituency into this district.

Julie Green

Julie Green came to Yellowknife to work as a broadcaster for CBC North in 2000. She left the CBC in 2009 to work full-time for YWCA Yellowknife and has since devoted much of her time to local service organizations, such as the United Way NWT, Northern United Place and the Yellowknife Housing Authority.

Since 2010 she's worked at McKenna Funeral Home, the family business, and since 2012, she's also been self-employed providing communications and fundraising advice to local non-profits. This is her first time running for public office.

Green says her number one issue is the rough shape of Yellowknife's downtown. While she acknowledges that's a municipal issue, she argues it's also a territorial one. The city centre is struggling with business closures, social problems and homelessness and the territorial government has a role to play in all of those, she says.

Campaign website

Robert Hawkins

Hawkins has been the MLA for Yellowknife Centre since 2003. Before that he served one term on Yellowknife City Council. He briefly flirted this year with seeking the federal Liberal nomination for the Northwest Territories before dropping out. Before politics he worked for municipal, territorial and federal governments, and in the private sector.

Hawkins says his most important issue in this election is the cost of living: he plans to tackle this by fighting against power rate increases and lobbying for an increase to the Northern residents' tax deduction (something the new Liberal government has promised). He favours new infrastructure, including the Stanton Territorial Hospital replacement, to boost and diversify the economy.

Campaign website

The CBC will profile all candidates, by riding, in the leadup to voting day, Nov. 23.