Editor: Record-setting election to come with same detailed coverage, in new fashion

By Scott Schmidt on September 20, 2025.

With another pair declaring Thursday, the 2025 city council race officially eclipsed a 24-year-old record for number of candidates in any given election.

While the spirit of democracy rejoices at the concept of nearly 40 passionate citizens stepping up in their community, tens of thousands of eligible voters are no doubt wondering how to whittle it all down to a maximum of eight.

The News has written opening profiles for most now, and will keep going until all have been featured, but an introductory piece is much like an opening statement. A number of goals and plans are mentioned, but the depth of explanation is minimal, and the concept of followup is non-existent.

It’s not a flaw in the process per se, because it provides certain democratic equality to each candidate – everyone gets a chance to speak under the same parameters as the next. It’s why the News provides the exact same space to each candidate; mayoral candidates get the front and council candidates top A3.

But it’s an exceptionally slow process, dozens of candidates means dozens of editions of the News. We’ve no doubt even the most avid reader of these would be hard pressed to remember details of those we covered in mid-August.

Saturday marks exactly one month until election night. Advance polls open in two weeks. Crunch time has arrived.

So, what to do?

In past elections the News has been able to print an election preview guide, where each candidate provides answers to the same questions – generally it was five for the mayoral hopefuls and three for council candidates.

At six and 39 respectively, that’s 147 responses to date and we still have nomination day Monday. Suffice to say, we have to pivot.

The News prides itself on the tradition of print, and so it isn’t without a sense of remorse that we must shift our focus to the internet. This isn’t to say we won’t be writing stories for print leading up to the election, but the only way we can come close to a balanced and thorough presentation of candidates is online, and we understand our obligation to the community and to democracy.

So, fear not, reader, we have a plan and we are determined to help you make the right choice for your next city council. And to council candidates, be ready for us, because we have questions, and this city deserves answers.

Once up and running, residents will be one click away from up to date information and unedited responses from your future decision makers, as they come in. And because it’s going to be all online, we aren’t limited to one or two or three questions for each candidate – perhaps even a reader will pose one we hadn’t thought of yet.

We also haven’t forgot about Cypress County, or Redcliff now that an actual council race exists – we know the focus has been largely on Medicine Hat thus far, but we are working on getting the information you need as well.

The News is acutely aware of the concern – even downright disdain – that developed toward city hall over recent years. For better or worse, we were a big part of bringing to light many of the issues that led to the current political environment.

We know it is our job to ensure you have the best chance to choose a group that provides a sense of confidence – and calm – moving forward, and we will spend the next month doing just that.

Scott Schmidt is the editor of the Medicine Hat News. He can be reached at sschmidt@medicinehatnews.com