For the first time in six years, Calgary has a real election. Well, kind of. Unlike the 2004 election, when incumbents walloped their challengers, this election will likely bring three or four — and maybe more — new faces to city hall. We’re not so foolish as to predict who will win on voting day, but we’ve profiled a few key battles to help you decide whose side you’re on come October 15.

BRONCO VERSUS KASSAM (MAYOR)

Incumbent: Bronconnier (2001 to present)

Nine people in this city allegedly want to be mayor. Only two want it badly enough to run visible campaigns. Local businessman Alnoor Kassam, 51, is challenging the seemingly unassailable Dave Bronconnier, 45. King Bronco rode to an easy victory in 2004, when he faced no serious competitors. This year, Kassam is the highest-profile candidate running against the mayor. Kassam’s green “GO Alnoor” signs — which, strangely, are shaped like stop signs — can be seen all over the city.

Kassam made headlines earlier this year when he almost jacked up the rent in a Mount Royal apartment building he owns to $2,500 a month from $650. (After the media picked up on the story, Kassam changed his mind and gave tenants three months free rent.) Now he’s running an aggressive anti-tax campaign. Bronco, meanwhile, is running on a campaign of “passion and purpose.” The Better Calgary Campaign (BCC) — a non-partisan city hall watchdog that surveyed all the candidates — is endorsing Bronconnier “with reservations,” even though it says Kassam has the better platform.

Despite his many billboards, Kassam’s campaign hasn’t got much traction. “It’s an uncontested mayoralty election,” says University of Calgary political analyst David Taras. “I would say that (Kassam’s) so far behind that I don’t even know what the analogy would be. It’s like the (Boston) Bruins winning the Stanley Cup. It’s like choosing the Arizona Cardinals to win the Superbowl.… I think if he gets 12 per cent he’s laughing.”

Another notable candidate is 19-year-old Jeremy Zhao, a chemical engineering student at the University of Calgary. Zhao has spent the campaign period trying to rouse Calgary voters — especially young ones — from their electoral apathy. The BCC gave Zhao words of high praise: “Jeremy Zhao is fantastic… (he) provided brilliant survey results reflecting a wisdom and depth of knowledge belied by his inexperience. We hope to see a lot more of Zhao in the future and hope he finds an outlet to play a prominent role in our city's growth.”

BANKS VERSUS HODGES (WARD 1)

Incumbent: Dale Hodges (1983 to present)

In 1983, Return of the Jedi was released. The original Nintendo Entertainment System went on sale in Japan. Michael Jackson’s Thriller was the best-selling album of the year. And veteran city councillor Dale Hodges, 66, was elected as alderman of the northwest Ward 1. “The world has changed over the past 24 years. Why hasn’t your alderman?” asked one candidate’s well-designed posters. (It turns out this candidate, Carol Neuman, couldn’t run because her forms were improperly filled out on nomination day.)

In 2001, Bowness resident Normand Perrault, 57, took Hodges on and was soundly trounced. This year, however, Bowness social worker Jennifer Banks, 35, has entered the race. Running under the slogan “a breath of fresh air,” Banks is better positioned than Perrault to knock out Hodges. Armed with a BA in international development and a master’s degree in social work, Banks says her ward is ready for new blood. She also has the endorsement of the BCC, which says that while Banks is “unseasoned,” Hodges is “constantly a force against positive change.” Banks agrees. “I don’t think he’s a strong enough voice on those issues that are really important to our ward and to our city right now,” she says, citing affordable housing and the environment as examples.

If Banks loses, Hodges will stay on council for another three years, pushing his total council tenure up to 27 years. Pretty soon the city will need to consider freezing Hodges in carbonite like Han Solo just so he can stay on council.

LAROCQUE VERSUS THE WORLD (WARD 3)

Incumbent: Helene Larocque (2004 to present)

This diverse northeast ward is the one to watch October 15. Incumbent Helene Larocque, 41, is getting dumped on not only by her two challengers, Jim Stevenson, 62, and George Chahal, 32, but also by community leaders and groups. The Panorama Hills Estates Homeowners Association has put up signs that bluntly read: “Do not re-elect Alderman Larocque.”

The problem, the association says, is that Larocque doesn’t return phone calls. “We have (left) dozens of voice mails and e-mails,” says association president Sheldon Zaharichuk. “We sent formal letters…. Nothing was ever responded to.” When Larocque was asked about this at a recent candidates meeting, she blamed her staff.

Larocque — “the weakest alderman on the existing council,” according to the BCC — won by 154 votes in 2004, when she was running against 10 other candidates. Now she’s running against only two challengers, including Stevenson, who was only 181 votes behind her in 2004. “The most commonly asked question we’ve got is: ‘if you’re elected, will you return our phone calls?’” says Stevenson, who runs a medical distribution company. “So there’s obviously a disconnect there.”

Chahal, who has lived in the ward for 22 years, is “one of the strongest candidates citywide,” according to the BCC. Chahal has a master’s degree in planning (he did his thesis on planning for ethnic diversity) and is a vice-president at Oxford Homes. He’s campaigning on a platform of smart growth and government transparency. His Facebook group also has more members than any other candidate we’ve looked at.

KING VERSUS CHAPMAN VERSUS MAR (WARD 8)

Incumbent: Madeleine King (2001 to present)

Like Ward 3, this inner-city ward could very easily change hands October 15. Incumbent Madeleine King, 61, barely held onto her council seat in the 2004 vote. She barely hung onto it this year, too, when, in September, she filled out her nomination forms incorrectly and almost disqualified herself from running.

Steve Chapman, 50, was only 146 votes behind King in 2004, and he’s trying again this year. Chapman has a tough-on-crime, tough-on-taxes platform. (His campaign chairman is Craig Chandler, a provincial Conservative hopeful who recently wrote that newcomer Albertans who don’t vote small-c conservative should leave the province.) Chapman is national president of the Progressive Group for Independent Business, a conservative lobby group.

John Mar, 38, is another candidate with ties to both the provincial and federal Conservatives. (He sits on the boards of Calgary-Buffalo MLA Harvey Cenaiko and Calgary-Centre MP Lee Richardson.) Mar was involved with the fight to keep the controversial John Howard Society halfway house out of Scarboro-Sunalta. “I think there’s a strong climate for change right now,” says Mar.

Also running in Ward 8 is Lindsay Luhnau, 26, who’s running on a platform of “green principles.” She’s focusing on smart growth, water conservation, green transportation, resource efficiency and arts spaces.

Mar has the endorsement of the BCC. “If he stands by the principles he espouses and avoids NIMBYism (something of which both he and Ms. King were accused during the Sunalta halfway house debate), he has the potential to be an excellent alderman,” says the BCC. King, meanwhile, has won the endorsement of the Calgary Professional Arts Alliance (CPAA) for her support of the arts during her council tenure.

PINCOTT VS. WHELAN VS. ROCKWELL (WARD 11)

No incumbent

This southwest ward is wide open, as current Ald. Barry Erskine announced he wouldn’t be running just a month before nomination day. Vying for his empty seat are five candidates. It’s looking like it will come down to a race between three candidates.

Brian Pincott, 46, is a familiar face to many Calgarians. Last year, the Alberta Theatre Projects production manager ran for the NDP in Calgary-Centre. And in the last civic election, he ran against Linda-Fox Mellway in Ward 14. Pincott has been pushing for more government transparency and accountability as well as better transportation options. Pincott has the endorsement of both the BCC and the CPAA.

Evonne Whelan, 42, runs a small agency that represents public speakers and comedians. Earlier this year she was considering running but wasn’t sure. “The message I got was, ‘boy, it’s really hard to take out an incumbent.’” When Erskine stepped down, she decided to do it. Whalen is a past president of the Mount Royal Community Association and a professional badminton player.

Jim Rockwell, 43, has owned and operated Rocky’s Burgers for 17 years. He also decided to run when Erkine announced he wouldn’t. Rockwell says the race is too close to predict. “I get a sense that it could be anyone’s ballgame, because Pincott has definitely been out of the gates first, and he could just have too many votes and we never catch up,” Rockwell says. “Or we could catch him in the end homestretch here, and we could split the votes two or three ways.”