The eight candidates hoping to become Delta councillors face a familiar challenge in trying to unseat incumbents.
Sylvia Bishop, Scott Broderick, Andrew Conley, Neil Corbett, Garth Cuthbert, Ranj Heer and Fabian Milat are trying to get on council for the first time in this month's municipal election. Also in the race is Jeannie Kanakos, a former councillor trying to return to the table after a three-year hiatus.
"It's always more difficult for a new candidate to get on board, regardless of how long an incumbent has been on," said Corbett, a longtime community volunteer.
"But even before making a decision to run, you have to look at if there's some kind of need for change. Right away, (Coun.) Heather King was running for mayor, so that created some space. But I had to ask myself did the public sentiment really warrant any change? I spoke to a lot of people and it seemed there was," he said.
A big problem for newcomers, especially independents, trying to get on for the first time is the financial aspect, noted Corbett.
"Unless you're an incumbent with some big group or businesses behind you, or activists, you're pretty much on your own and don't see those big corpo-rate dollars."
Corbett has received endorsements from CUPE Local 454 as well as King.
Milat, a threeterm school trustee who is running for both council and the Delta school board, said he believes his experience on the board gives him the name recognition needed to crack council.
"For new people getting into politics, it's not easy to jump right into elected office. This is my seventh election. I lost the first three elections before I got elected three times."
As far as how to unseat an incumbent, Broderick stated, "At the end of the day, if a newcomer wants to knock off an incumbent, you need to be real, personable and willing to take that little extra time to build relationships with those who you are asking to represent. And if you really want to increase your chances further, you need to stop acting as a politician and be a public servant.
People want to feel connected to city hall and that council and mayor truly understand what their needs are and why."
Kanakos, whose husband Nick is running for school board, said getting an endorsement from incumbent Bruce McDonald should help her chances.
"It's the same for me as it is for anybody, and that is working hard, door knocking and meeting as many as the people as possible. I truly appreciate that it takes time to earn the voters' trust and I certainly don't take that for granted," said Kanaoks, who is also endorsed by Delta firefighters.
Sylvia Bishop, who is photographed with the likes of MLAs Vicki Huntington and Guy Gentner as well as former mayor Beth Johnson on her website (Huntington has not publicly stated an endorsement though), can also be considered a familiar name. She ran against Ian Paton in last year's council by-election, placing second and winning several polls.
Conley, who has received endorsements from CUPE Local 454 and Delta South NDP candidate Nic Slater, said he's been door knocking and relying on social media to spread his word.
He noted he'll be meeting people at dog parks as another strategy.
Cuthbert and Heer are part of a new electoral organization called Renew Delta and Heer said response to the group has been extremely positive.
While all the candidates are calling themselves independents, on a recent blog Cuthbert noted once a group forms, including a local government council, there's the risk of a "groupthink" dynamic occurring.
There's going to be at least one new face on council because King has given up her seat to run for mayor. The other five members of council - Robert Campbell, Scott Hamilton, McDonald, Paton and Anne Peterson - are seeking reelection.
Meanwhile, the race for Delta school board has 20 candidates, including 14 newcomers.
The municipal election will be held Nov. 19.
