By Miranda Miller

Four years ago this October, Owen Sound residents seemed to signal it was time for a change. Mayoral incumbent Ruth Lovell Stanners was unseated in a narrow victory, with just 41 extra votes for victor Deborah Haswell.

Lovell Stanners may just get her third shot at the seat; she's the only mayoral candidate registered to date.

Haswell announced her intention to run for re-election in early May, yet hasn't filed. In a statement to the Sun Times at the time, she explained why she'd like another crack at the top job in the city: "We're right on the cusp. We're starting to turn this ship around. There is so much opportunity and the people of Owen Sound deserve to see this community thrive again and we're really just starting to see the rubber hit the road and I would really like to be a part of that going forward," she said.

Lovell Stanners, for her part, pointed to what she calls a confrontational leadership style and an overall concern with the state of affairs at city hall as the impetus for her run. "I think that collectively as a city we've all been frustrated by decisions made, delayed, revisited or ultimately changed that should have been better managed and quite frankly wasted a lot of time," she said.

In the upcoming debates, incumbent Haswell will no doubt call on her accomplishments as mayor as evidence she should be given another shot. There's the new sign on Highway 10 (no, it's not actually on the northbound 410), the cause of much celebration and even an on-location photo op.

There are developers in the city building condos and other housing. Unlike a business developer such as Villarboit Development Corp, they're even allowed to do so without being maligned or prompted to go to the Ontario Municipal Board to redress their treatment by the city. By the way, Villarboit is the same company you'll hear praised in areas such as Cornwall and Belleville, where other municipal governments have thanked them for revitalizing their waterfront and business regions with massive investments.

Our municipal representatives treated the company's representatives like second-class citizens, bashing it in media statements and nitpicking over the size of stores at Heritage Grove. There was much ado over a stand of butternut trees on the property, yet when council deferred to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Villarboit was authorized to remove them, the city went on the attack again and condemned the developer.

Their recent settlement agreement through the OMB was hailed a victory for the city but actually read more like a logical compromise. Was it really worth the cost to taxpayers? Heck, maybe it's a good thing our council took Villarboit to task. We'd hate to foster a mutually beneficial relationship that might see them invest in our waterfront, too.

Speaking of which: What about our waterfront? In 2012, we paid for the preparation of an impressive waterfront beautification plan. A few short months later, Mayor Haswell told news media there were private conversations happening around a third-party company taking the harbour back from the feds. The week after, she claimed she was misquoted, yet her audio statement was crystal clear. P&H became interested in taking it over, then were not anymore.

For over half a century, every plan and idea for the Owen Sound harbour was sold to the people of the city with the understanding it would become an asset; that its potential would finally be realized. Now, it seems our council has simply decided we don't want it and that a public access agreement would suffice.

This October, Owen Sound voters might find the election issues eerily similar to those brought up in 2010. Our emergency services costs are still unsustainable. There's still a general feeling of a lack of progress or sense of direction.

Now, we've also thrown our weight around and alienated developers and neighbouring municipalities. Mayor Haswell herself is being sued by the former clerk for libel. The Ontario Ombudsman found our council in violation of the Municipal Act for having a secret meeting and vote on the MRI funding issue.

Transit continues to be a contentious and seemingly unsolvable issue, despite tens of thousands spent on consultants. The state of minor sports is abysmal and we're faced with the very real possibility there will be even less for families to do in Owen Sound if the slashing and burning continues.

In her 2010 campaign, Haswell said she felt like a passenger in a moving car and was not confident with the skills of the navigator. She felt she could do more and do it better.

This October, voters will have to ask themselves: how do you feel about her driving?

Miranda Miller is an Owen Sound writer and journalist with an interest in public policy.