S o many candidates, so little opportunity for voters to get to know them. And just 18 days to Election Day on Oct. 17.

With 47 candidates seeking election to Comox Valley municipal offices and only one or two public events to hear them speak in person, how can voters seriously assess and compare them all?

And that number does not include the eight candidates for School District 71 trustee or the 10 candidates from Denman and Hornby for positions on the Islands Trust.

Depending on where you live, it’s an easier task for some than others. In Electoral Area B, there are only two candidates for a seat at the Comox Valley Regional District board. In Area C, there are three.

But there are 11 candidates in the Town of Comox and 19 in the City of Courtenay.

Faced with what might seem like an overwhelming task, some voters may not bother and choose not to vote. That might explain why roughly 70 percent of eligible voters stayed home for the last local government election in 2022 – about 58 percent in Cumberland.

And maybe some of those who do vote will simply mark an X beside the names they recognize, without having done any further research.

Who knows what lurks in the minds of Comox Valley voters?

But to help those who intend to vote, Decafnation offers up our traditional election survey. We asked seven questions of the candidates for mayor and council in Courtenay, Comox, Cumberland and the regional Electoral Areas.

Not all candidates responded. In Comox and Electoral B, even a few incumbents didn’t respond.

But 31 candidates took the time to reply. That’s about 66 percent of them. So, we think their answers deserve your attention. You will definitely learn a little bit more about each of them.

Today, we offer the responses for Courtenay and Cumberland. You can click the links or go to ‘Politics‘ in the menu at the top of this page, then ‘Elections 2026‘ and then the candidate responses you want to read. The voting starts next week!