For incumbents, a municipal election should be a simple task. They have a record to run on, and voters either like it or they don't.

The challenger is forced to make promises he or she may not be able to keep.

The problem for voters is that the incumbent's record is blurry at best.

Sure, we know who sat on which committee and what big reports they did and how they voted on our local pothole issue, but we can't always remember their term as a whole. We don't know for sure how they voted on amendments to specific measures, or worse, amendments to amendments. If you're not inclined to take their word for it, it's difficult to know exactly how they feel about certain issues, given the modern and complicated reality of voting at city hall. Council agendas and minutes are, at best, complicated -- and, at worst, impenetrable for the uninitiated.

In Ottawa, they don't have this problem. There, city council minutes include the full resolution and a record of every vote, plus the record of how each council member voted. Not only that, each meeting is videotaped and available on the city's website, as is a host of other information about council activities.

That is a remarkable service to the public. It's up there for everyone to see, it can be accessed easily and council members can't hide from controversial matters.

Should London institute something similar?

They should certainly consider it. If Ottawa confirms, as it has told The Free Press, this is not an onerous duty for staff, many Londoners would be grateful.

It would make the system more transparent for those who haven't time to follow council activities like a baseball game, but still like to keep up with issues.

Finally, voters would have concrete information on the voting records of their elected officials, and be able to make better informed choices on election day.