DALTON GARDENS — With nine candidates on the ballot for two council seats in a quickly approaching city election, a small group of Dalton Gardens residents this month set out to learn more about who in their town was running for what.

So they organized a meet-and-greet.

“It was difficult to get any information,” said Melissa Cleveland, one of the organizers.

Wednesday’s gathering, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at Dalton Gardens Church of Christ, 6439 N. Fourth St., is not meant as a contentious squaring off of candidates. It is designed instead to be a low-key affair in which residents can converse with future council members.

Cleveland, a Dalton resident, said she and a few neighbors in the town of 2,400 did not recognize the names of some of the candidates on the ballot, nor were they sure what the candidates sought to accomplish if they were elected to City Council.

Cleveland and her friends sent questionnaires and made phone calls in an effort to learn about the races, in which the entire field of four council members — Dan Edwards is the sole mayoral candidate — could be replaced.

Current council members Kenneth Egbert and Tyler Drechsel are running against Carrie Chase, Ray Craft and write-in Gilbert Kibby for two of the 4-year seats, and incumbent council members Jamie Smith and Scott Jordan are vying for two additional four-year terms against Aaron O’Brien, Drew Dittman and Robert Wuest.

Issues at the forefront of this year’s election include paying for street repairs, whether to fund an increase in law enforcement, how to keep Dalton rural in the face of growth and how to build trust in city government after a contentious recall election last spring.

The recall left the council without a quorum or a mayor, and wasn’t remedied for several months. It also left a rift in the community, as voters showed their lack of confidence in city government.

Cleveland, whose group sent postcards to city residents to announce the meet-and-greet, said at least half the field of candidates has expressed a desire to attend this week’s function. Edwards had not responded to inquiries, and one of the candidates, write-in Gilbert Kibby, is an unknown who also hasn’t responded to questionnaires or an invitation to attend.

“We don’t know who he is,” Cleveland said.

She hopes a good percentage of the city shows up for the event. So far, she said. the group’s effort to shed light on the field of potential council members has been met with appreciation.

“A lot of people are pretty happy we’re putting something together,” she said.