Wally Andersen new mayor of Happy Valley-goose Bay

Wally Andersen is the new mayor of Happy Valley-goose Bay.

Andersen, a former deputy mayor of the town, accepted the role of mayor on Jan. 2 at a private meeting of council, filling the seat left vacant by the death of John Hickey.

“It’s not something that anyone would look forward to,” Andersen told The Labradorian in an interview.

“We began our elected term together along with council, and to lose him this early into our mandate, it’s hard. Nobody wants to take over under these circumstances.”

Under the Municipalities Act, the town had three options to fill the position: hold a byelection, or choose the mayor from existing council members either by way of an open vote or a secret ballot. Council choose the open vote option.

Andersen, who had been filling the role since Hickey’s accident, said he was told by council in late December that if he wanted the job they would support him.

Andersen told council he would make his decision by the beginning of February, but said the support from the community he received over the holiday season spurred him to accept the role.

“During Christmas and New Year’s I was around town and the number of people that came up to me, called my house, came to my door, the support was overwhelming,” he said.

“They were asking me to take over the role as mayor. And there’s a lot of issues that we have to deal with.”

Some of the issues Andersen cited were the budget due at the end of this month, an upcoming health forum, the aging fleet of town vehicles and the ever-looming spectre of the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project.