(Elect 1)
The mayor is the head of your local municipality (city or township) and sits on that council. The mayor also sits on Regional Council.
Local municipalities deal with issues such as public parks, fire departments, and building inspections. Read more on the Municipal Government Overview page.
Debates and all-candidates meetings are interactive events where candidates running for a position answer rounds of questions. They allow you to compare candidates side by side, and are the most effective way to quickly compare candidates.
If you don’t have time to watch an entire recording, watch 2-3 rounds of questions in the middle of the meeting. Alternatively, you can listen to the audio of a debate like a podcast while walking or doing chores.
Advocacy groups often publish questionnaires that allow you to compare candidates side by side. Pay careful attention to how questions are framed, and how this reflects the positions and philosophies of the advocacy groups.
Articles can highlight issues of importance to the election and the electorate. These items are (mostly) published by established news organizations.
Candidate profiles allow you to read responses from different candidates side by side. They allow you to compare candidates based on their backgrounds and experiences. Often they will not tell you how candidates would address specific issues.
Opinions, blog posts and discussions can be partisan, but sometimes can be helpful in bringing attention to election issues.
Sometimes discussions on forums like Reddit can give you a range of opinions about candidates and campaign issues.
Some opinions take the form of endorsement lists which explicitly recommend candidates to vote for. Again, be aware of the partisan nature of such endorsements, and carefully consider how the endorsers reached their conclusions. You will also want to look at our media inclusion philosophy page for information about what endorsements are officially allowed.