Saskatoon's former director of planning laments the amount of the misinformation in this year's campaigns for spots on city council and mayor.

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I’ve seen a few civic elections in my career. I don’t recall as much misinformation as there seems to be in this election. I am left wondering: Why so much misinformation?

Surely the Saskatoon mayoral candidates know that the mayor’s office doesn’t come with executive powers. The mayor cannot sign an ‘executive order’ to unilaterally shift city policy or cancel a program without the support of the majority of council. The mayor has one vote, like every other member of council.

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It’s called a ‘weak mayor’ system. It’s very democratic. The mayor has power only through influence and their charismatic ability to persuade or convince other members of council to vote in a particular way. Some are better at this than others.

So, what is the misinformation that is out there? It’s not that the misinformation is........

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