Two months after announcing his retirement from territorial politics, Education Minister Doug Graham is back in the running.

The Porter Creek North MLA said this morning he’ll be challenging NDP Leader Liz Hanson in her Whitehorse Centre riding.

It has been an NDP stronghold since the former NDP leader, the late Todd Hardy, took the seat from Liberal Mike McLarnon in 2002.

Tamara Goeppel is running for the Liberals.

Graham told the Star late this morning he had no intention of seeking re-election, especially in Porter Creek North.

There, Yukon College chancellor Geraldine Van Bibber has put her name forward as the Yukon Party candidate.

Van Bibber, he said, is a top notch candidate, not to mention a family friend going way back.

But when he was asked by the party’s Whitehorse Centre organization if he would be interested in running against Hanson – and after getting the green light from his wife, Mayvor – he agreed to seek re-election.

Graham said he really does love the work he’s doing with the Education portfolio, and his wife knows that.

The progress being made in Education is the single biggest reason he decided to run again, he said.

Graham said the government has entered into education agreements with six of the 14 First Nations regarding the inclusion of First Nation culture and language in the school curriculum.

The Education minister met this week with Grand Chief Peter Johnston of the Council of Yukon First Nations, and he said he got the impression the grand chief likes what he is seeing.

Much has been done, but there’s more to do, and it’s just not possible to do it in next couple of months, he said.

“There is a lot of things that have not been completed in Education and I would love to be around to do that, I really would,” he said. “That’s the biggest thing.”

Graham is a longtime veteran of both territorial and Whitehorse municipal politics.

Born and raised in Whitehorse, he was first elected in 1978 to one term in the territorial legislature as a member of the Yukon Territorial Progressive Conservative Party representing what was then Porter Creek West.

In 2000, Graham was elected to city council. He remained on council through three and two-thirds terms until he resigned when he was successful in his bid to represent Porter Creek North as a member of the Yukon Party.

Prior to taking over the cabinet portfolio for Education, Graham served as minister of Health and Social Services. He was largely responsible for steering the new extended care facility in the Whistle Bend subdivision through the early days.

While he remains a resident of Porter Creek, Graham and his wife both grew up in downtown Whitehorse. They plan to eventually relocate to the downtown area, he said.

The veteran politician said there are some solid candidates for all parties for the upcoming election.

“People in the territory will have some real good slates to choose from, as far as I am concerned,” Graham said. “I think some of the ridings will be really tight but I still truly believe we will form the government. I really believe that.”

Premier Darrell Pasloski has until Oct. 14 to call the election.

The Yukon Party has been in power since 2002, having won three consecutive majority governments, the first two under former premier Dennis Fentie.