If you were to ask 10 people on the street who Ben Hendriksen is, the man himself said most probably wouldn't know.

"Two or three might actually go, 'Yeah, okay,' you might get another three to four go, 'Yeah, I've heard of him in the last week.'"

You may have heard that Hendriksen is now Yellowknife's new mayor, having been appointed by city council on Monday. Hendriksen, who had been serving as acting mayor since early April, will now serve as the city's top politician for the remainder of this current council's term.

To serve as mayor, Hendriksen has taken a leave of absence from his full-time job with the Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission.

He was also adamant about not running for mayor when the next municipal elections are scheduled to happen in October 2026. 

Some have been critical of the city for not holding a by-election to choose Rebecca Alty's replacement. Alty, of course, is the new MP-elect for the NWT after winning the seat in the federal election on April 28. She tendered her resignation as mayor the following day. 

Coun. Steve Payne was the only councillor who argued holding a by-election would be the most transparent option, saying the public having their say in the democratic process would be worth the cost.

The projected cost to hold one, according to the city, would have been between $100,000 and $150,000.

"We don't do things behind closed doors," said Payne.

In response to those who would argue a by-election is the most democratic choice, Hendriksen agreed, but that doesn't mean the appointment option is not democratic at all, he contended.

"All eight of us (on council) have been elected in our own right," he said.

Hendriksen also said the financial cost didn't include all the staff time that would go into it, which would take away from other projects under the city's work plan.

As well, under the Cities, Towns and Villages Act, council has the option to appoint a council member to be mayor in situations like this. 

For those reasons, Hendriksen argued that appointing someone - in this instance, him - was the most efficient option while preserving some democracy.

Asked if he would have run in a by-election, Hendriksen said he didn't know. 

"If there was a by-election, then I would have several months to think about it and I'd be able to engage more people on whether or not they felt I should run," he said. "I respect the fact, very much so, that I have not been elected (mayor) in my own right."

Now that Hendriksen is the mayor, what are his priorities? The same as council's, he said, with housing being top of the list.

He said currently, the city doesn't own enough land to add plenty of houses and still needs to work with the GNWT to acquire land to build larger, single-family homes. 

Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce president Mark Henry has housing as one of his top concerns as well.

"Housing is critically important," Henry said. "The debate on the amount of housing within each density area, that's up for debate. But we have to have some." 

Specifically, Henry said he wants to see the city put greater emphasis on single-family unit housing.

The city launched an identification strategy, which aims to add density to the city's housing options with duplexes and four-plexes alike, namely in the downtown area. 

Henry agreed that it makes up a part of the city's housing mix, but he added he wants the municipality to also focus on houses in more rural areas for families. 

"We need to have some," said Henry. "Right now, we have none."

That's a sentiment Hendriksen can sympathize with, he said.

"That's not to say that in the future that's off the table," he said

Hendriksen said he hopes he can get both divisions of government to come to an agreement. 

"My goal for the next 18 months is to really focus on the advocacy and lobbying side of the job," he said.

City council will still need to decide what to do with Hendriksen's seat once it becomes vacant after he is sworn in on May 12.