Race to become Saskatoon mayor heats up

With less than a month before Saskatoon residents go to theballot box to vote for the city's nextmayor, a political studies professor from the University of Saskatchewan says he's surprised at just how close the race has become.

"There are highly volatile campaign grounds out there," said Joe Garcea. "The way they walk through those campaign grounds is going to determine who wins the election."

A new Mainstreet/Postmedia poll released this morning shows Don Atchison is leading the race with 26 per cent.

• Poll shows tight 3-way race for mayor of Saskatoon

Charlie Clark is coming in at 23 per cent, followed by Kelley Moore at 22 per cent.

Support for Atchison is down by three per cent, Clark support fell by one per cent, while Moore's support is up by four per cent.

Moore has communicated her message that she is up for the job, according to Garcea.

"She's convincing some people she's an alternative," he said.

Support for Devon Hein, the last candidate to enter the race, sits at one per cent support.

Garcea said the mayoral campaigns during this election are emulating bigger cities in the country and that ismaking for a much more intense race.

"I think we're going to see higher voter turnout," he predicted.

He also believes that people are focused more on the ideas and plansof the candidates rather than door-knocking and mud-slinging.

"I think what we're seeing is healthy for democracy. We're starting to see a good, healthy discussion regarding policy and programs," said Garcea.

Undecided voters

One of the big stories coming out of this poll is the number of undecided voters. The undecided vote has increased by six per cent, to 28 per cent of those polled.

Garcea said there is somewhatsoft support for the candidates, making it even more crucial to make gains in the undecided voter group.

Garcea said that he'll be keeping a close eye on some very specific vote-deciding decisions.

"To a large extent I think this entire election hinges on two things, continuity versus change and economic development versus community and social development."

Mainstreetsurveyed a random sample of 843 Saskatoon Residents by SmartIVRTMon September 27, 2016. A mixture oflandlinesand cell phones were surveyed. A probabilistic sampleofthis size would yield amarginoferrorof+/- 3.38%, 19 times outof20. Results were weighed by age and gender based on the 2011 Canadian Census.

CBC to host mayoral debate

CBC Radio's Saskatoon Morning is hostinga mayoral debate on Monday morning. Starting at 7:10a.m. CST, all four candidates will be debating civic issues.

Voters go to the polls onOct. 26.