The level of interest in becoming a municipal politician appears to vary widely across Nova Scotia, with some councils acclaimed entirely and others short on candidates.

In the town of Middleton, all seven members of council — including the mayor, Calvin Eddy — have been acclaimed ahead of the Oct. 20 municipal election.

The town of Mulgrave, on the other hand, is short two candidates for council and will have to hold a special election to try to fill the positions.

Meanwhile, the town of Stewiacke has a record number of candidates running for council this year — 11 people vying to become one of six councillors in the community of 1,500.

Wendy Robinson, who has been acclaimed as mayor of the town, said there's no burning issue that explains all the interest.

"It just must be that people want to be associated with a positive," she told CBC News.

Almost half of the 11 candidates running to be councillors in Stewiacke are women, far exceeding the provincial average where less than 24 per cent of those running in the municipal election are women.

"We women in this town feel that we are capable of being on council and the people in this town, who are both male and female, feel that we do a good job and are not against voting for a female," said Robinson.

"I have no idea why. It's an interesting study, I think."