Bridgewater, NS - Most of the candidates running for mayor in Cape Breton Regional Municipality, NS, have more in common than an interest in politics.

Three of the five hopefuls, Elizabeth Barrie, Glenn Jessome and Wilf Isaac, have assault convictions.

Barrie, 51, was convicted of assault with a weapon in September 2008 after a brawl in May 2006. The mother of four has said in online forums that it was a misunderstanding after a domestic dispute and she wants to help her community. She works as a private tutor.

The trio are running for the top post in Cape Breton Regional Municipality, formerly known as the city of Sydney.

Jessome, 42, a highly-educated teacher who has worked and been published internationally in both math and physics, says his October 2010 assault conviction happened at the end of a bitter custody dispute with his ex-wife. After representing himself in court, fighting to see his children, Jessome was convicted of assault after he bumped his shoulder into the arm of his ex-wife's lawyer.

"I was convicted of being in three places at once, which is of course, physically impossible. I managed to out-do (Greek philosopher) Pythagoras," Jessome told QMI Agency.

If elected, however, he said he wants to focus on the economy and the regional brain drain.

Isaac, 70, was convicted of assault in February 2007 and was sentenced to a year's probation. He has told local news radio that it was after a scuffle during a mining protest. He's a well-known activist in the community and is retired from the auto industry.