With apologies to all who took part in the 2008 municipal election, but it had to be one of the most boring and anti-climatic on record.
There was no need for a school board race as all seven hopefuls were acclaimed, more council candidates got elected (six) than came up short (four) and a public opinion question on whether to provide the hospital with half a million bucks to help buy a CT scanner was such a slam dunk it got almost 90 per cent support. The only real drama, if you can call it that, was veteran councillor Krista Engelland's challenge to Mayor Lois Jackson, but even that fell 3,000 votes shy. Voter turnout was a paltry 31 per cent.
That's not supposed to happen in Delta. How does a place where public discourse is a way of life, where public meetings and hearings have become considered date nights, hold an election and get that kind of turnout, from both political hopefuls and voters?
Thankfully, it doesn't look like history will repeat itself this fall. With four candidate announcements, including three for the municipality's top job, by midJuly, 2011 is shaping up to be far more contentious than its predecessor.
Engelland is back to take on Jackson and will be joined this time by poll-topping rookie councillor Heather King, ensuring the race for the mayor's chair will be, at the very least, a lively, threeway contest.
Neil Corbett, a longtime community volunteer and all-round good guy, is first off the mark in the battle for council seats, but I'm sure that's just the start of candidate announcements as we inch closer to the third Saturday in November.
The school race can't help but be more contentious than the non-event of '08, and given this is the first election since the controversial closure of a pair of elementary schools two years ago, it's already got itself a hot button issue.
The Southlands will obviously be the dominant topic in Tsawwassen, but for the three-quarters of Delta voters who don't live there, I suspect the upcoming election will boil down to a decision between status quo and change.
Jackson's announcement that she's seeking a fifth term wasn't terribly well received on the always-informative Ladners Landing Facebook page, with posters suggesting the need for new blood at municipal hall.
Whether that feeling is pervasive throughout the municipality remains to be seen, but it's a good bet the debate between new and old for all offices will be more compelling than three years ago.
