There appears to be varied levels of interest throughout the region in running for municipal politics in the upcoming elections.

For example, the Town of Morris will have a mayoral race for the first time in over a decade as three people had declared their candidacy as of Friday. However in Carman, not one person has registered yet in a bid for the top job.

Additionally, declarations for councillor also vary among municipalities.

According to Joe Masi, executive director for the Association of Manitoba Municipalities, the reason for this variation all depends on the circumstances.

"Sometimes there's a local issue or something that's really important that people really want to run. In other areas, sometimes things are going well and the community is satisfied with their representation and so there may be less candidates in that case. But it could be as simple as the incumbent has stepped down ... and so there's a feeling of wanting to have as many good candidates for head of council."

Meantime, Masi isn't sounding the alarm yet on having enough candidates to fill all available council spots, saying it's not a decision to be made lightly.

He explained there's a process where incumbents have to give some thoughtful consideration to whether they want to run again. As for those that are interested in running for the first time, Masi said they have to have some discussions with their family and employer, getting a number of things in order before they submit the paperwork.

"And that's perfectly understandable, it's a big commitment on their part and they're certainly wanting to make sure they can devote the time necessary for the position."

Masi expects interest levels will start to grow after the Labour Day long weekend as summer starts to wrap up and people return to normal routines.