Today@Dal

From the September 12 edition of Metro:

New district boundaries mean several incumbents will face off for a council seat, but it’s the lack of an incumbent that’s got all eyes fixed on the mayoral campaign.

Dalhousie University's Jack Novack said the odds are in favour of formal Liberal MP Mike Savage.

“At this point he probably has to play it fairly safe, not do anything silly, and he should be okay,” said Novack.

With Peter Kelly’s decision to stay out of the race, Novack said the discussion can now focus on the future.

Now it’s about, ‘What do we want to be when we grow up?’” he said. “What is our future like? What do we hope the legacy of this council will be in four years?”

Novack said the races to watch will be in districts where two current councillors  are battling for one seat, such as in District 8 with Dawn Sloane and Jennifer Watts.

He said name recognition is a significant factor in Nova Scotia, presenting a major challenge for newcomers running against sitting councilors.

“If you’re an incumbent councilor there’s a 75 per cent chance you’re going to get re-elected,” said Novack. “Now we have two incumbents, so that’ll be interesting.”

Read the rest of the article at Metro's website.