Candidates for mayor, council and trustee need to submit before the summer deadline.
While the municipal election in Mississauga doesn’t see voters go to the polls until October 26, the deadline to run as a candidate and get your name on the ballot comes much sooner.
The nomination period to become a candidate for mayor, councillor or school trustee closes on August 21 at 2pm.
You can’t just show up at City Hall before the deadline and fill in a form though. There is preparation that goes into signing up for a candidacy.
Candidates must bring in at least 25 endorsement forms filled in by voters in Mississauga who are willing to sign nomination papers supporting your name on the ballot.
Prospective candidates need to book a meeting in advance with an Election Official to submit their paperwork. This can be done online and you can also reach the elections office by phone at 905-615-3389 or by email at election.office@mississauga.ca.
Candidates must also pay a small nomination fee to appear on the ballot — $200 to run for mayor and $100 to run for ward councillor.
The first day to register was May 1. Mayor Carolyn Parrish registered soon after, declaring her intention to seek re-election early on. Since then, councillors Alvin Tedjo and Dipika Damerla both also registered to challenge Parrish for the mayoralty.
One of the most interesting angles to this current election race though is the attempt at a comeback by Bonnie Crombie. The former Mayor is seeking to have her old job back after leaving it mid-term to become Ontario Liberal leader.
Parrish and Crombie have long had a complicated working relationship, having exchanged barbs over the past 15 years as long-time Mississauga politicians, despite both having at one time served as federal Liberal MPs.
The very limited public opinion polling that has been done indicates that it could be a tight race between these two leading candidates.
