Mississauga municipal election could be 'turning point' for city

The Mississauga election is just over a month away, andwith 20 candidates officially registered to run to be the city's next mayor, many are watching closely as the outcome could change the future of the city in a big way.

"The city of Mississauga is at a turning point," saidShari Lichterman, city manager andCAO of the city ofMississauga.

"It'sreally important that we elect the right person to represent the city and to advocate for all we will need as we grow very rapidly to a million people over the next decade," she said, adding the current population is close to 800,000.

Mississauga was once known as a bedroom community, but it's rapidly becoming more urban and seeing more vertical growth.

On top of that, Mississauga hasonly had two mayors in the last 45 years.

Hazel McCallion was first elected in 1978 and served as mayor for 36 years, until she retired in 2014.In the race to replace her, McCallion threw her support behind Bonnie Crombie, propelling her to a big win.

Crombie stepped down from the job in January to become the leader of the Ontario Liberals.

Four of the 20 candidates registeredDipika Damerla, Stephen Dasko,Carolyn Parrish and Alvin Tedjohave recent experience on city council.

Voters head to the polls on June 10. Here's the full list of candidates:

• Zulfiqar Ali
• Diya Atassi
• Brian Crombie
• Dipika Damerla
• Stephen Dasko
• Jamie Dookie
• Frank Fang
• XiaohuaGong
• Winston Harding
• Sara Iqbal
• Syed Jaffery
• Mohsin Khan
• Mitchell MacEachern
• Sinisa Mandrapa
• Mike Matulewicz
• Carolyn Parrish
• David Shaw
• George Tavares
• Alvin Tedjo
• Nathalie Xian Yi Yan

Live in Mississauga and getting ready to vote? Let us know what's on your mind as you pick a new mayor: