Arthur Mitchell is a Canadian politician, who was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Yukon and the Leader of the Official Opposition from 2006 to 2011. He is a former real estate agent and an assistant to John Ostashek, the Yukon Party Government Leader (Premier) from 1992 to 1996. Mitchell was elected leader in June 2005 in a leadership race against Pat Duncan, the Yukon's first Liberal premier, and remained leader until his defeat in the 2011 Yukon election.
Arthur Mitchell | |
|---|---|
| Leader of Official Opposition of Yukon | |
| In office May 1, 2006 – October 11, 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Todd Hardy |
| Succeeded by | Elizabeth Hanson |
| Leader of the Yukon Liberal Party | |
| In office June 2005 – October 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Pat Duncan |
| Succeeded by | Darius Elias (interim) |
| MLA for Copperbelt | |
| In office 2005–2011 | |
| Preceded by | Haakon Arntzen |
| Succeeded by | riding dissolved |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 31, 1950 New Rochelle, New York |
| Political party | Liberal |
Personal life
editMitchell is originally from the community of New Rochelle, New York. He is the brother of television journalist Andrea Mitchell who is married to Alan Greenspan.[1] He is son of Cecile and Sydney Mitchell. Mitchell's father was the chief executive officer and partial owner of a furniture manufacturing company in Manhattan and was also the president of Beth El Synagogue in New Rochelle for 40 years. His mother was an administrator at the New York Institute of Technology in Manhattan.[2] Mitchell moved to Canada in the 1970s, settling in Atlin, British Columbia to run a general store until moving to Yukon in the early 1990s and becoming a real estate agent in Whitehorse.[1]
Mitchell has also served as alternate chair of the Yukon Worker's Compensation Health and Safety Board and on the City of Whitehorse Parks and Recreation Board.[1]
Political career
editMitchell ran unsuccessfully in the newly created Whitehorse riding of Copperbelt in the 2002 Yukon election, but was defeated by Yukon Party candidate Haakon Arntzen.
In the 2002 election, the Liberals were reduced from government to just a single seat, that of leader and former Yukon Premier Pat Duncan. Duncan consequently called for a confidence vote in her leadership, which Mitchell contested. He defeated Duncan by 54 votes in June 2005.[3]
Mitchell soon after contested a by-election in the riding of Copperbelt in 2005, following the resignation of Haakon Arntzen after convictions of indecent assault.[4] Mitchell was elected to the Yukon Legislative Assembly in the November 21, 2005 by-election.[5]
Mitchell led his party to gaining Official Opposition status in May 2006, following the defection of two New Democrat MLAs, Gary McRobb and Eric Fairclough, to the Liberal caucus.[6] Under Mitchell's leadership, the Liberals retained Official Opposition status later that year in the 2006 Yukon election, increasing the party's seat count by one. Mitchell served as the Yukon's Leader of the Official Opposition during the 32nd Legislative Assembly.[1]
Mitchell announced his intention to seek re-election in the redistributed riding of Copperbelt North in the 2011 election, after his riding of Copperbelt was dissolved. However, he was defeated by Currie Dixon of the Yukon Party and announced his resignation as the head of the Yukon Liberal Party. As a result of its loss, the Yukon Liberal Party was once again reduced to third party status.
Election results
edit2011 general election
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yukon Party | Currie Dixon | 520 | 47.8% | – | |
| Liberal | Arthur Mitchell | 407 | 37.4% | – | |
| NDP | Skeeter Miller-Wright | 159 | 14.6% | – | |
| Total | 1088 | 100.0% | – | ||
2006 general election
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Arthur Mitchell | 632 | 52.5% | +3.0% | |
| Yukon Party | Russ Hobbis | 374 | 31.1% | +11.6% | |
| NDP | David Hedmann | 191 | 15.9% | -14.8% | |
| Total | 1204 | 100.0% | – | ||
2005 by-election
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Arthur Mitchell | 459 | 49.5% | +16.9% | |
| NDP | Maureen Stephens | 285 | 30.7% | +3.2% | |
| Yukon Party | Cynthia Kearns | 181 | 19.5% | -19.6% | |
| Total | 927 | 100.0% | – | ||
- On the resignation of Haakon Arntzen (September 2005).
2002 general election
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yukon Party | Haakon Arntzen | 374 | 39.1% | – | |
| Liberal | Arthur Mitchell | 312 | 32.6% | – | |
| NDP | Lillian Grubach-Hambrook | 263 | 27.5% | – | |
| Total | 957 | 100.0% | – | ||
References
edit- ^ a b c d Yukon Liberal Party Leader: Arthur Mitchell, cbc.ca. Retrieved 11 February 2012
- ^ "Alan Greenspan, Andrea Mitchell". The New York Times. April 6, 1997.
- ^ Yukon's Pat Duncan loses Grit leadership The Globe and Mail (Canadian Press), June 5, 2005. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
- ^ Arntzen's victims' pain will endure, Hardy says Whitehorse Star, September 9, 2005. Retrieved December 14, 2016.
- ^ "Arthur Mitchell - Leader of the Official Opposition". Yukon Legislative Assembly. Archived from the original on 7 May 2011. Retrieved 23 November 2010.
- ^ Fairclough joins Liberals Yukon News (Leighann Chalykoff), May 2, 2006. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
- ^ Report of the Chief Electoral Officer of Yukon on the 2011 General Election Elections Yukon, 2011. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
- ^ Report of the Chief Electoral Officer of Yukon on the 2006 General Election Elections Yukon, 2006. Retrieved January 21, 2017
- ^ Copperbelt By-election Report Elections Yukon, 2005. Retrieved January 24, 2017
- ^ Report of the Chief Electoral Officer of Yukon on the 2002 General Election Elections Yukon, 2002. Retrieved January 21, 2017