Are you less than excited about the upcoming elections? Your decision on November 10 could have a major impact on your life and the future of the city. We now know all the candidates, and most have challengers. Now is the time to take an active interest, talk with the public-spirited people who give their time canvassing, and get to know your candidates.

An election may be looked at in two ways: selecting good people, and supporting candidates who declare support for specific policies. In municipal elections, your current personal concerns will only represent a tiny fraction of the matters that will come up for discussion in the council chamber in the next term. More important therefore is to vote for informed and ethical people who can think for themselves on wide ranging matters. On the doorstep, some voice concerns about issues that may affect them personally, and a smaller number bring up matters that could have a general impact, such as city mergers. Many have a view of how well the candidate has been performing in the past, though I have to say that the largest number seem to have no opinions, or if they have, they aren't talking about them. Few are prepared to become personally involved in finding solutions to problems they perceive, although they aren't slow to complain, but believe that as taxpayers they are paying someone else to deal with all the problems. It's in this sort of vacuum that the candidates operate to solicit support.

Which takes me back to the preferred approach: identify talented and ethical candidates and let them do their jobs. How can you best do that? Last municipal election the National Capital Freenet ran a simultaneous debate on the Internet, and they have set up a similar forum for this election at go munelect. The Freenet debate allowed many of us to develop a better knowledge of both the candidates and the issues. The Freenet Kanata SIG / discussion group is a convenient medium for the statement of views (go Kanata).

We also have a new Kanata based web site offering a platform to candidates. The site can be found at www.ncf.carleton.ca/~aj624/muni.html. The site can either link to a candidate's existing site, or provide web space to any candidate who will provide textural information either by e-mail to aj624@freenet.carlton.ca, or on disk (phone 591-3903). The site currently lists all the candidates and associated election information. It links to the official election site set up by the City. Alex Munter has one of the most impressive election web sites I've seen, accessible from the new site. But you don't need to go to such lengths to get your views on the electronic highway; it's the words and feelings that count.

Next January, The Ontario Fair Tax System replaces the present system, giving municipalities the responsibility for tax distribution patterns. Assessment notices will go out from late January to March. March 15 is the deadline for Regional Council to decide the tax rates, which will determine what you will actually pay. The bills will be sent out April or May. By then we will have experienced one of the largest transfers of fiscal responsibility ever legislated in Ontario. The people who will be responsible for the relative assessments for the different property classes are the people you are about to elect. Choose them carefully. Next March will be too late to discover that they weren't the right choice. If in May you don't like your tax bill, it may be too late to be able to do much more than grumble.

Next year we may see any one of a variety of municipal / regional restructuring approaches take effect, and find ourselves as part of a larger, or a very much larger, city. Towards the middle of the year, in the absence of consensus at municipal level, the provincial government could step in and dictate a solution. The candidates you select on November 10 will play an important role in these decisions.