Next month's municipal election has lost some of its luster without a race for the mayor's chair, but the battle to be on the last Lois Jackson-led council is one still worth watching.
With five incumbents seeking another term, the Nov. 15 vote has all the makings of a yawner, yet the race for six council seats might just feature the deepest collection of candidates in recent memory. I'm not advocating kicking our current civic representatives to the curb in favour of the newbies, but I do think it's worth getting to know where all 13 hopefuls stand.
I posed questions to the candidates at a public forum last week in Ladner and it was a shame the meeting was so sparsely attended because there are a lot of intelligent, well-intentioned people putting their names forward this time.
In civic elections where name recognition is huge, it's tough to knock off an incumbent so those not on council always face an uphill battle. Former councillor Heather King and Rod Binder, the most recent addition to the DIVA team, would have to be considered the favourites to crack the top six.
Before mounting an unsuccessful mayoral challenge three years ago King topped the polls in 2008, so it's hard to see her not getting back on council. At the same time, Jackson has shown she has expansive coattails, so Binder is definitely running with the right crowd. The one difference this time around, however, is she's not on the ballot, or the signs, so that connection to the popular mayor isn't quite as direct.
Talent on the ballot doesn't stop with them. The four members of Delta Connect all seem to possess a good grasp of the issues and it's been a while since I've seen someone as outwardly passionate about municipal politics as Nicholas Wong, the youngest member of that slate.
It's going to take some doing to get their names noticed by voters, but it appears they're making inroads on that front.
A little over a week ago I was stopped at the light at Arthur Drive and 44th Avenue when I spied an election sign on the southwest corner. I could tell it was a Delta Connect sign, but it was impossible to make out the names. It was more of the same a couple of minutes later when I was stopped at the intersection of Ladner Trunk Road and Highway 17A. This week, however, those hard-toread signs have been replaced by ones where the names are so big (think Sylvia Bishop signs) they knock you over the head.
Well, at least we know they're fast learners.
