The Yukon Teachers’ Association (YTA) elected a new president last Friday.

Sue Harding, a teacher for more than 30 years, and a learning assistance teacher at Holy Family Elementary School for nearly 20 of those, defeated incumbent president, Katherine Mackwood, who is on administrative leave.

Harding took a healthy majority of the vote – 466 to Mackwood’s 218.

Seventy-seven per cent of the YTA membership cast a ballot in the election, just shy of last year’s 79 per cent turnout.

“I have a passion for the teaching profession, so I just thought I’d throw my hat in and see what happened,” Harding told the Star Monday morning.

She’ll officially become president July 1.

She hopes to spend the next year advocating for issues around teacher wellness, the implementation of the redesigned curriculum rolling out in Yukon schools, and support for rural teachers, to name a few of her mandate priorities.

“So lots to do.”

Work on longstanding challenges related to temporary teacher status is also on Harding’s agenda, as is the current push for YTA representation for Yukon on-call teachers.

Carol Sherlock, the YTA’s vice-president, told the Star Monday she’s “very excited” to work with Harding in her new role.

“Sue has been involved with the YTA for a long time and she did a fantastic job for us in the last couple of negotiations, being our negotiations chair.”

Harding has also served as the YTA’s employment relations chair for the last three years.

The current collective agreement between the territorial government and the YTA is set to expire June 30, and negotiations on a new agreement will begin next month.

Harding said she’s positive “that we can sit down at the table and come to agreement on a number of issues that we’ve been grappling over the past three years.”

Leading up to election day, the two-candidate presidential race felt like a “fairly close contest,” Harding said.

“But I was really, really overwhelmed at the support that the membership gave to me in terms of the actual election results; I’m very, very thankful and humbled.”

Mackwood, who served as YTA president from 2009 to 2015 and was elected again last spring, has been on administrative leave since December 2017.

Sherlock said the reason for Mackwood’s leave is confidential. Sherlock has taken on presidential responsibilities in her stead.

Mackwood declined a Star request for an interview for this story.

Elections for a number of YTA executive positions will be held at the association’s annual general meeting this Saturday.