The people of Halifax will have to choose a new mayor without knowing who paid for the frontrunner’s campaign.

All of the candidates, except for Mike Savage, say they have released or will release a list of their donors before voting begins tomorrow.

“I see this as being a perfect avenue for the candidates to show true transparency over and above what is required in the Municipal Elections Act,” says mayoral candidate Tom Martin.

Martin released his financial figures Friday. To date, just over $48,000 has been donated to Martin’s campaign efforts and nearly $38,000 has been spent.

Candidates are required to make their donations public and have until 60 days after the election to do so.

So far, no one has officially submitted paperwork to the city clerk’s office, even though five of the six candidates said they would make their finances known before advance polls open Saturday.

Mayoral candidate Fred Connors doesn’t plan to file his paperwork with the city until after the election but he plans to make his finances known on his campaign website by the end of the day Friday.

“We are targeting to spend in the area of $20,000 in this campaign,” says Connors. “We have spent in the area of $10,000. Every single effort made by my campaign team has been voluntary.”

Frontrunner Mike Savage is the only candidate with no plans to release his donor list in some capacity until after the election, as required by the Municipal Elections Act.

He says his opponents are changing the rules too late in the game.

“Don’t play politics with this. This is crazy,” says Savage. “We all knew the rules going in. You don’t change the rules midstream. Maybe we should change the election date to Oct. 31? You can’t do that.”

“Stick to the rules. That’s part of transparency and honesty.”

On the streets of Halifax, opinions are mixed on the numbers debate.

“It’s a bit dodgy, isn’t it, if they don’t show? Of course they should show what they are spending,” says one area resident. “I am new to Halifax, but I think there is a lot of spending that goes on here that is undisclosed.”

“If that’s the rules, then why do five of the six want to change it?” asks another. “Because they are underfunded and someone else isn’t. If that’s the terms, and they all knew that going in, then leave it alone.”

Aaron Eisses, Steve Mackie and Robert Wesley McCormack are also running for mayor.

Advanced electronic voting begins Saturday while polling stations will be open Oct. 20 for residents who want to vote in person.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Kelland Sundahl