The Incumbents Come to the Table...

It's not like it was expected.  Three incumbents have recently submitted their candidacies for re-election.  And they have storylines to boot!

Tom Jackson has submitted his candidacy for re-election as Ward 6 councillor, setting the stage for a rematch with 2006 rival Dr. Natalie Xian Yi Yan.  Because I just moved to Ward 6, I don't know what else the good doctor has done to promote herself.  Now becoming the longshot candidate, I see this as her last chance to win this, because if she doesn't do it this time around, I just don't see how she will win in the future.  This observation is not a reflection of her abilities or any lack thereof, but one of public sentiment.  You can be the best person for the job and still not get it at all.  It just seems that those who win these seem to deserve it the least.

And speaking of those who deserve it the least, Maria Pearson has a long way to go to show why she should be re-elected and with a strong challenge from Pablo Bustamante, she will have her work cut out for her.  At this point, her only advantage is demographics.  When you consider the fact that people in that ward have a quasi-rural attitude, you would have to say that Maria has a slight advantage.  Now I'm not saying that Pablo's nationality is an issue, it's the general attitude of the suburban communities.  Once again, this is an observation.  I think Pablo can pull it off because he has general support in the Fruitland community and he just needs to overcome Maria's advantage, which he has been chipping away at for the last couple of months.  At this point, he is doing a great job of it.

Finally, Dave Mitchell recently submitted his papers to fight for his re-election.  Ken Chartrand has some support in such a way that he could really give Mitchell a run for his money.  But once again, we have a demographic issue here.  Ken Chartrand has some partisan support with him, but it's not clear if the rural residents in the Glanbrook area are looking for some sort of change in representation.  Perhaps someone from that area can give us some perspective.  At this point, things have been eerily quiet in the southeast.

So the incumbents have begun submitting their candidacies for re-election and so the real fight begins for the challengers.  Right now, only one of these incumbents has a significant advantage.