Winnipeg Votes: What does it take to notice the candidates?

Candidates to be Winnipeg's next mayor, city councillors and school trustees have 16 days left in their campaigns, but a number of voters still don't know who's who and what they stand for.

Some voters told CBC News over the weekend they don't recognize the candidates in this fall's civic election, while others said they haven't decided who they would vote for.

"I would be more undecided because I am not quite clear on where people are standing," said Paul Moen, who added that he would usually be decided earlier.

With election day happening on Oct. 22, and advance polls already underway, local political analyst Christopher Adams said he's surprised to hear people don't know who to vote for.

• Advance voting begins for Winnipeg civic election
• Full coverage: Winnipeg Votes 2014

"Voters are starting to see the names of these candidates, so I expect that there are fewer and fewer people who are sitting on the fence or who are disengaged," he said.

It's not just a candidate's policies that are important in a campaign, said Barbara Biggar, who helped former Manitoba premier Gary Filmon win three provincial elections.

"I think [in] this campaign, more than any other in the past, having charisma, a sense of energy and really being able to connect with voters is important," she said.

Biggar said one of the best ways to connect with potential voters is what Trish Paterson and Jessica Katchen say they would like to see more of:one-to-one conversations.

"Honestly, unless they came to our door and had a face-to-face conversation, it's really hard to get any other information to us," said Paterson.

"I think they need to do more door-knocking," said Katchen.