Final Push to the Polls underway as incumbents and Challengers look to secure votes.

The campaign sign farm at McBride and Second West has expanded 
significantly in the last few weeks of the Municipal election campaign

The four candidates for Mayor and the eight seeking the six City Council seats are in the homestretch for the 2022 Municipal Election campaign. 

The next three days making for the final burst of campaign themes and talking points before the doors open Saturday at 8 AM for the final twelve hours for voting at the Jim Ciccone Civic Centre on the General Voting Day.

The four Mayoralty candidates will be looking to keep whatever momentum they may have found over the last few weeks building for the final 72 hours, looking to find that one key point where there is a bit of distance between the campaigns that will send one of them on the top office at City Hall.

With five incumbents seeking a return to the council Chamber, the three challengers will be looking to make their final and best impressions over the next three days, and the Council race does offer up some potential for change come the end of the vote count on Saturday.

The 2018 totals provide a glimpse towards where the challengers Andy Chugh and Teri Forster may find some room to make a move into, or in the case of Ms. Gordon-Payne a return, to Municipal politics. 

As the political landscape shows, at least one of the three challengers is guaranteed a chair of the six in the Chamber.

However, from those totals there is also a potential for change through some attrition of the incumbents.

From 2018's totals, while nothing should be taken for granted, it would seem likely that Barry Cunningham, Gurvinder Randhawa and possibly Wade Niesh will hold their vote total from four years ago for a return, probably based on name recognition from their time on Council for the voters.

For the other two more recently in place incumbents Nick Adey and Nelson Skelton-Morven, how they are viewed from the last four years of their time on Council and how they have moved forward through this campaign could make for the difference between a return, or an opportunity for the challengers to push ahead come Saturday evening's final tallies.

Depending on how the political weather vane is blowing by Saturday, all five incumbents could return, or three of the old guard will make way for those challengers on the ballot. 

The key towards destiny on October 15th the ability to get out a vote and a campaign message that has resonated with those heading to the polls.  

The nature of campaigning has shifted significantly over the last decade, the door knocking and on the street appearances while still a necessary skill, has given way to all consuming social media messaging, though that does run the risk that some of the candidate's messages are lost to those who don't have much time for such instruments as Facebook and such.

As the campaign has moved forward, some candidates have been far more active in delivering their political messages than others, with a wide gulf between how some have chosen to campaign. 

Many have been prominent daily, others have let their introduction to the campaign stand as their only comments through the last month. Some seem happy to have just put up a few election signs around the city with little else to be seen or heard through the election period.

Still,  Social media does seem to be where the campaign is living these days, candidates reinvent themselves there, changing their narratives as the campaign evolves; with many having made their pitches with increased frequency as these final few days move forward.

The voting opportunities for the general public this week include the advance poll for today at the Civic Centre and the General Vote Saturday from 8 AM to 8PM.

Prince Rupert Transit and BC Transit will be looking to give the democratic process a boost, offering free transit service on Election Day Saturday, that in hopes of boosting the participation rate for the municipal election.

More notes on the campaign can be reviewed through our archive page, included in our archive are the social media links that are available for those who have them.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review.