How do we get more people to vote?

[nms]

I canvassed for one of the local candidates and busy schedules was one of the reasons we heard at the door for why people weren't going to bother to vote.  The other one were the very frank, "I don't get involved in politics" answers.  Unfortunately, for better or for worse, citizens have a confused view about municipal politics.  In some cases it's informed by other jurisdictions (say, Toronto and it's hijinks) and in other cases, I think they are informed by TV or movies.  Can anyone name a movie about a good municipal politician?

I think having specific issues to attract people to the polls helps too (see the comment above about Waterloo's multiple referendum votes in 2010).  Further, telling voters to not bother voting for an anti-LRT candidate because it was a done deal didn't help encourage people to get out and vote either.  If they didn't want to vote for the current crowd, but were encouraged not to vote for an opponent (or for that matter, couldn't find one that they liked), what was left?

Without looking up candidate profiles on websites, can anyone name any big issues where there was any debate (ie clash or different points of view) about what should be done? To the uninformed, municipal politics can be dull and without stimulating issues.

Present forum members aside, not many people get excited about zone change variances or most of the other items that cycle through a municipal agenda.