Commitment
My earlier posts on this subject were about policy this is about the person. I have deliberately brought it in as No1 because in my opinion it does not really matter what party they belong to unless their policies are extreme left or right wing. There is little to choose between the parties these days and if like me you vote on local issues at a local election, the candidate and what they stand for is the real issue.
I firmly believe that councillors should live in the ward they represent because unless they do they can never really be committed. I don’t want to see a political party trying to sell us a candidate from outside our ward on a slim prefix that they are championing issues in our ward. I want to see candidates who organise neighbourhood watch schemes, are leaders on tenants and residents groups, school governors in our ward and organise cultural and social events in the ward. They should be alongside residents when the council or a developer dumps on us. I don’t want to go to another residents meeting and listen to a load of excuses as to why they can’t be involved with a problem. I want to see them showing some real leadership.
So will Wonder Women or Captain Marvel please stand up. Shazam. Sorry but you need to be in my age group to understand the last bit.
I think I just about covered everything with my top 10. I deliberately missed off ASB and policing but if there is anything our candidates would like to add I'll be pleased to accommodate them.
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1 comment:
As you know Bob, I have took issue with some of your points, but it is a damned good list. I really don't know why you haven't stood as a local candidate. I can vouch for the fact that you don't have to swallow every bit of party political nonsense in order to get selected as a candidate, and in fact having contrary views is often welcomed in our group I find.
I don't win all of my battles in the party, or even most of them, and as you can tell from my blog, they don't stop me saying what I want.
The council needs good local champions, and although your experiences don't seem to bear it out, I think most councillors, from whatever party, do champion their wards.
Finally, I would broadly agree with you about local people, and I made it absolutely clear when I went on the panel of candidates that I did not want to seek selection outside of my own Wards.
There are exceptions though. Delia Edwards who was recently elected in Princes End would never have been elected in Greets Green because we have 3 excellent established councillors there, and yet we had no stand out candidates at all in Princes End, so I can see their argument for selecting an 'outsider' and from what I hear she is working her socks off for the people of the area.
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