As the polls trickled in yesterday evening, it was easy to see early that Ian Paton was going to be the man to beat. His lead started the moment the advanced polls were announced but with many more polls to come in, anything could happen. Well that anything was an impressive sweep of all six Ladner polling stations and the advanced polls.

The East Delta auctioneer dominated Ladner taking 55% of the vote there. Outside of Ladner, Paton saw his support drop losing both Tsawwassen and North Delta to Sylvia Bishop but it wasn't enough to overcome the huge margins gained in Ladner.

Polls close in less than an hour and judging by the numbers I reported, it would seem that the voter turn out in the North is going to be less than stellar. Of course there was still four hours of voting left at the time.

Every hour the various polls report their numbers to city hall and at 5pm Holly Elementary was the most visited polling station having received over 800 ballots. "We're hoping to get over 1000 votes here today," said Sheryl, the PO for Holly Elementary.

What makes an issue an issue during an election? Is it media coverage? Is it which community organization yells the loudest? Is it the business interest that spends the most money on advertising? Is it all of these? Is it any of these? I can't even begin to predict what will motivate the people to vote. All I can hope for is that people are motivated to vote.

With only one day left in the by-election there seems to be quite a bit of confusion as to where the candidates stand on the issues. Especially when it comes to the most talked about and contentious issue in South Delta - The Southlands.

The confusion seems to have been rectified by the opponents to developing the old Spetifore Farmlands. In the most recent issue of the Delta Optimist the community groups, "Southlands the Facts" and "Save our Southlands" took out a half page ad asking that you vote for Sylvia Bishop. This choice isn't as clearly stated for the people who would like to see the development happen.

A well known and respected name in civic politics has come out in support of Sylvia Bishop, candidate for Delta council in the September 18th by-election.

Former Delta mayor, Beth Johnson is backing Bishop.

“I have known Sylvia for a long time. I know her to be hard working, dedicated and equipped to take on the responsibility as a delta councilor. She will serve Delta well.”

Since announcing the candidate challenge, two question gets asked all the time. "Why are you doing this challenge?", and "Isn't endorsing a single candidate biased?"

The answer to the first question is easy. By-elections rarely inspire people to get out and vote. When you add to that, the general malaise of having an election cycle which spans the summer months, you get even less participation. The Delta Free Press Candidate Challenge was our attempt to inject some excitement into this less than exciting by-election and get the public more involved with the candidates.

It has been said that the land in Delta is so fertile that if you stick a toothpick in the ground there will be leaves on it by morning. As the summer break draws to an end, the crop of election signs are starting to fruit. They have been springing up everywhere. A colouful collage of election signs with bold names and catchy slogans to feed Delta voters.

By Elvis Glazier - Last night people congregated at the Delta Town and Country to watch the debate between the candidates running in the upcoming by-election. Of the eight potential ballot choices only six candidates lined the table as Amy Ghuman Sara and Ray Robinson chose not to attend the televised event. The less than packed room included Delta Mayor Lois Jackson and councilors King, Hamilton, and Campbell.

It's an eight candidate 'Battle Royal' at the Delta Town and Country Inn tonight. The people vying for your vote will have an opportunity to duke it out in a public forum. The event is hosted by the South Delta Leader in partnership with the Delta Chamber of Commerce and Delta TV.