The Toronto Board of Trade launched a campaign Tuesday to get residents interested in municipal politics.

With less than a year to go until the 2010 municipal election, the business-oriented group says this is the time to start pushing ideas and getting voters engaged.

On Monday, Liberal MPP George Smitherman showed that municipal politics can get attention when he grabbed the media limelight by announcing he would be seeking the Toronto mayor's job in next October's vote.

On Tuesday the board launched Vote Toronto 2010, which is "intended to spark debate in advance of the 2010 municipal election."

The board says it wants votes to get involved — and the best way to do that is to highlight key issues, such as public transportation, urban sprawl and the city's finances.

Tim Rider of the Royal Bank of Canada said Monday's report by the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development on how traffic congestion is affecting the city's economy is a perfect example of why people need to take an interest in the municipal vote.

Recently, said Rider, he found traffic so snarled in the city "I wanted to take all my people that are at Bloor and Yonge and move them to Highway 7, just because of the ease of getting around."

The board says it wants to develop ideas around specific policy proposals, including:

• Fixing the city's finances,
• Growing the city and regional economy.
• Improving civic democracy.
• Promoting social cohesion and economic inclusion.

The board says it will use the discussions and the ideas that result to promote participation in the election process while trying to inspire "the broadest possible participation in the democratic process."

"This election is not just about choosing new leaders," said board chairman Bill MacKinnon in a news release. "It is an opportunity for voters to choose a new vision for Toronto and a means for our government, economy and society to evolve in the decades to come."