Want the lowdown on the upcoming municipal elections?
Look no further than the Citizen for all the latest - both in print and our website.
Municipal election campaigns are moving into full swing now that October is here, school is back in session and the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention is over.
The Citizen aims to keep the community in the loop as we look towards November and our trip to the ballot box.
Our number one goal is to get as many people to vote as possible.
We won't tell you who you should cast your ballot for, but we are telling you that you should cast one.
Traditionally, turnout for municipal elections is even smaller than the steadily decreasing turnout for provincial and federal elections.
Those numbers are pathetically small, so you can imagine what the tallies look like in the votes for local mayors, councillors and school trustees.
It is a sad reality, and one that is destructive to our communities.
Local governments make many of the decisions that affect your day-to-day life.
From street improvements to property taxes, school support services to allowing a development to spring up next door, our local politicians are the ones responsible for making those choices.
You should take the time to figure out who you want to be selecting the options for the next four years.
The Citizen will try to make it as simple and painless a process as possible, by profiling the candidates and reporting on allcandidates meetings and other election news as it crops up.
This year, we've also put a special section up on our website where you can go at any time to see who's running for what.
Just click on the Election 2014 tab on the left hand side of our navigation bar, then click below that on the Candidate Profiles link. It's a one-stop shop.
As for those who are running for office, let us know.
You can email, come in to our office on Jubilee Street, or give us a ring. Or there's the handy Running for office link in our Election 2014 tab on our website, where you can submit your own profile to us, along with contact information.
Keep an eye out at the beginning of November for our candidates guide, which will be printed in the paper.
This will gather together all of the candidates and is designed for you to be able to pull it out and take it with you to the polling place.
If you feel overwhelmed by the number of candidates, remember that you don't have to vote for the maximum number allowed. If you only like two or three, only vote for two or three.
But the key thing is: vote!