With Wagga's council election campaign well and truly under way, one local community group is offering residents a chance to meet those vying for a spot at the table.
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The newly-reformed Wagga Ratepayers Association will be hosting a 'Meet the Candidates' event at Romano's Hotel on Tuesday night.
There are 43 candidates competing for the nine spots up for grabs on Wagga City Council, including many first-time campaigners.
With only six of the current councillors going for re-election there will be guaranteed spots for fresh faces and Wagga Ratepayers Association secretary Lynne Bodell is urging the community to know who they're voting for.
"At the moment a lot of people don't know the candidates and they are just names on a paper," she said.
"This is a chance for the candidates to introduce themselves and put their points forward to the community."
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Dr Bodell said all of the groups taking part in the election and most of the individual candidates would be attending the event, which will be free and open to the public.
Each group will be allowed to choose a representative to address the crowd for a set time and discuss the issues which they and their group would be looking to tackle if they are elected.
Following this, there will be a chance for attendees to ask the candidates questions and quiz them on their views and intentions.
Dr Bodell said the upcoming December 4 election is "extremely important" for the future of Wagga and residents should do everything they can to ensure they are making the correct decision.
"This election is our opportunity to voice our concerns and hopefully get some change for the good," she said.
"We're trying to educate people about the options they have and this is our chance for the candidates to come along and for the residents to ask them questions."
"We're really encouraging people to vote below the line and help get new fresh ideas that are going to work for Wagga and not for themselves."
This sentiment was shared by Estella resident Peter Mowbray who is also a committee member on the Ratepayers Association.
"We have no knowledge on some of these candidates and this is our chance to fix that," Mr Mowbray said.
"There are so many people who complain about their councillors so come and learn about the options we've got for the election."
The Wagga Ratepayers Association re-formed towards the end of October and Dr Bodell said the group's committe is sorted and they are now fully-functioning.
The event will begin from 6:30 in the Chandelier Room upstairs at Romano's Hotel.
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