Though the mayor’s race is already well under way, Labor Day weekend is the traditional beginning of campaign season. For the next nine weeks, candidates throughout northeast Indiana will be seeking votes in city and town elections.

Here’s a guide to what to look for in this year’s Fort Wayne elections.

MAYOR Tom Henry (D) Mayor, 2008-present City Council, 1984-2003 Paula Hughes (R) Allen County Council, 2003-10 Haley Ahrendt (I)

So far, this campaign has been all about city finances, with incumbent Henry defending his record and Hughes pushing a conservative message of no tax hikes, unspecified budget cuts and criticizing the city for, in her view, borrowing too much money. How effective her strategy will be in connecting with voters is uncertain because city finances have remained in good shape under Henry, especially compared with some other Indiana cities. Look for Hughes to become even more critical and aim her sights on spending for consultants while the well-financed Henry defends his record.

Ahrendt lacks name recognition and isn’t prepared to wage a real campaign but could affect the outcome in a close race.

With a well-liked incumbent but a Republican-leaning city, turnout will be crucial.

CITY CLERK Sandy Kennedy (D) Clerk, 1983-present Zach Bonahoom (R)

Kennedy remains immensely popular among voters and is so well liked Republicans purposely decided not to field a candidate in 2007, fearing more Democrats would vote if Kennedy were challenged.

Bonahoom has legitimate arguments that Kennedy’s office is lagging in technology, and he could be the most formidable candidate she has faced – but the same was said in 2003, when Kennedy defeated John McGauley with 59 percent of the vote.

Bonahoom’s father, Joe, is attorney for the City Council – for which the city clerk serves as secretary.

CITY COUNCIL, 1st DISTRICT Steve Shafer (D) Tom Smith (R) City Council, 2000-present

Smith often comes to the council table with more ideas than real plans, and he has been a thorn in the side of the Henry administration on several issues. But he has been a calm voice when rancor has spilled out across the council table.

With a heavily Republican district covering the northeast suburbs and Smith’s solid name recognition, Shafer, a former firefighter, faces an uphill battle.

CITY COUNCIL, 2nd DISTRICT Karen Goldner (D) City Council, 2008-present Russ Jehl (R)

This will be one of the most closely watched city races. Republican Don Schmidt held this seat for a phenomenal nine terms before Goldner upset him in 2007, largely because of an exceptionally strong campaign. But the near-northeast-side district remains Republican-leaning, and the GOP hopes to take the seat back.

Opponents have made much of Goldner’s unsuccessful effort to introduce a bill to prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identification – people who are transgendered or transvestites – and Jehl will likely use that issue to appeal to conservatives. But that issue is more than 18 months old and didn’t cause that much of a debate, so it could well come down to, as in 2007, shoe-leather campaigning and get-out-the-vote efforts.

CITY COUNCIL, 3rd DISTRICT Christian Nagel (D) Tom Didier (R) City Council, 2004-present

Didier is not the most engaged of council members, nor is he as heavily into some of the complex issues as his colleagues, but he has displayed a healthy independence from partisan differences on the council. Most recently, he parted with most other council Republicans and opposed a futile attempt to more heavily regulate local campaign contributions.

Perhaps more important for purposes of the November election, Didier has excellent name recognition in the district he first won eight years ago by knocking off veteran councilman Tom Henry. And Nagel got a very late start – Democrats appointed him as their candidate in late June after no one filed for the primary.

CITY COUNCIL, 4th DISTRICT Mike Avila (D) Mitch Harper (R) City Council, 2008-present

Harper has become one of the council’s most controversial members by blatantly waging partisan fights at the council table and insisting the state attorney general is simply wrong about campaign finance law. But he has decent name recognition and a heavily Republican southwest-side district.

Avila ran for county commissioner in 2010. He will need to raise much more money and campaign aggressively if he hopes to wage a competitive race.

CITY COUNCIL, 5th DISTRICT Geoff Paddock (D) FWCS board, 2003-06 Ben Hall (R)

With incumbent Democrat Tim Pape’s decision not to seek re-election, Republicans have better hopes for winning this heavily Democratic south-central Fort Wayne district. Paddock has solid name recognition from his role as executive director of Headwaters Park and a term on the city schools board. But Hall has recognition of his own from the Hall family restaurant business. His mother, DeDe, held the seat for a single term in the late 1990s.

CITY COUNCIL, 6th DISTRICT Glynn Hines (D) City Council 1999-present

Hines is the only city candidate not facing opposition this year.

CITY COUNCIL, at large (3 elected) John Shoaff (D) City Council, 2004-present Gordon Anthony (D) George Guido (D) Marty Bender (R) City Council 1996-99; 2008-present John Crawford (R) City Council 1996-2007 Tom Freistroffer (R)

After the mayor’s race, this will be the most-watched election-night contest. The big question: Can Crawford gain back his council seat after losing in 2007? Many blamed his loss on the city’s ahead-of-its-time smoking ban, but Crawford certainly wasn’t helped by a weak GOP mayoral candidate who reduced Republican turnout and opposed Crawford on some major issues.

Incumbents Shoaff and Bender go in as favorites. The General Assembly appeared headed toward approving legislation prohibiting city employees such as Bender from serving on city councils, but that was defeated on the last day. Ironically, Bender has a history of siding with council Democrats and Henry on several big issues, while Shoaff is often the lone Democrat to vote with Republicans.

While those three candidates are the ones to watch, Freistroffer has decent name recognition, while Anthony was a firefighter and head of the firefighters union. Guido will be at the biggest disadvantage; he lost in the primary but was appointed to replace Tommy Schrader over Schrader’s residency, a legal case that persists.