With the provincial election now behind us, voters in municipalities across Ontario will head to the polls in October to elect new local governments.
In Sudbury, the race is already heating up.
The current council has been one of the most active in recent memory, approving a number of major projects in the city since 2014.
But a long debate over where to locate a new $100-million arena has left a city divided and brought a lot of the animosity between the urban core and its outlying communities to the surface.
The wounds of the 2001 amalgamation will likely play a big hand in this contest.
So far, we have two declared candidates for mayor.
Incumbent Brian Bigger filed his nomination papers earlier today.
His first challenger is political newcomer, Cody Cacciotti, who at 33 years old is one of the youngest candidates we've seen.
A number of incumbent councilors have either filed papers or stated their intentions to run, but some have also stepped aside, opening the door for experienced candidates or fresh blood in a couple of key wards.
