Planning to Run for City Council; any advice?

City Council elections are coming up in my city next year. My locale is primarily controlled by a company that owns a lot of real estate, and brings a great deal of money to the city. I have always had the suspicion that most of our city council members represent this company's interest above all else.

Does anyone on r/politics have any experience with local elections and can offer advice? I hope that this will provide a stepping stone to the state house and would appreciate any advice my fellow redditors have to offer.