IQALUIT - Voters in Iqaluit go to the polls Oct. 19 to choose a mayor and eight city councillors.

The two candidates for mayor of Iqaluit, Elisapee Sheutiapik and Jim Little, could not be more different.

The incumbent Sheutiapik said her agenda for a third term as mayor would be to continue the project of developing a long-term, 30-year vision for the city, outlined in a document that would serve to guide future councils in the future.

That process started two years ago, when the federal government started allocating revenues from the national gas tax into municipalities.

"Since I started this process, I found there's a lot of silos," she said, meaning administrative areas with specific areas of responsibility, without enough communication and co-ordination between departments.

"Sometimes change doesn't happen easily," she said.

Little, a city councillor, accuses the council of "poor decision-making" on a number of fronts. He says council frequently makes decisions based on recommendations from city staff without enough information, an example of which he said was the location of the new cemetery, which he feared would contaminate the water of the Apex River.

Little said though he thinks he would do a good job as mayor, even if he's not elected the campaign provided him with an opportunity to speak to voters.

"If nothing else comes out of this election, I hope that I'm going to inform people what's going on," he said.

Aside from the mayoral race, 21 candidates are vying for eight city council seats. Out of the outgoing council only one member, Al Hayward, is not running for re-election.

Candidate Ed deVries is currently facing charges of possession of marijuana for the purposes of trafficking stemming from an August raid on his home. Chief returning officer Kirt Ejesiak said a criminal record doesn't make a candidate ineligible unless they have been sentenced to at least five years in prison within the last three years.

Both District Education Authorities for Apex and Iqaluit have been acclaimed because fewer candidates came forward than the number of seats available.

The acclaimed board members will appoint the remaining ones, according to Ejesiak.

The house numbers of Iqaluit's voters were taken off the Iqaluit election website on Oct. 2, in response to privacy concerns. However, house numbers remained on the voters lists which were posted in public places around the city.

Ejesiak said the addresses needed to be on the list because some there are some voters with the same names. For example, he said there are three people named Mosesee Kilabuk in Iqaluit who are eligible to vote, all with different house numbers. Ejesiak said he knew that wasn't an error, because one of them is a relative of his.

"We're trying to balance the rights of voters with the need to determine residency," he said.

To be eligible to vote in Iqaluit's election you need to have lived in the city for at least 12 months as of election day, Oct. 19.

The polling stations will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and are located at Cadet Hall in Iqaluit and at Abe Okpik Hall in Apex.