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(Posted 25/7/05 Updated 25/7/05)

WANTED!

ON NOVEMBER 26, 2005:

Councillors Who Will Work For Us!

Macedon Ranges:

We’ve Got To Get Better Local Government Representatives and Representation

There’s a Council election on November 26th, 2005.   It provides all of us with an opportunity to make some much-needed, positive change.  To achieve that, we need to know what we’re looking for, and not looking for, and who we are voting for.  It won’t be easy.

Ever wondered why Macedon Ranges Shire seems to lag behind, playing catch-up instead of taking charge?  Could it be that too much time is wasted on internal power-struggles and in-fighting or climbing the greasy pole to higher political office instead of being a damned good Councillor?  Could that be why we seem to lack a clear, shared vision of what’s in the best interests of most of the people?

MRRA reps attending Council meetings aren’t impressed with how most of our Councillors are performing: one-upmanship, block voting, and outbursts of personal animosity aren’t unknown.  Antics in chamber can be childish, vindictive, pure theatre or just plain silly.  From gallery reactions at Council meetings, only a few Councillors are seen as knowing what they are talking about and doing a good job.  Some Councillors seem more focussed on getting the best of each other rather than the best for us.  Some simply don’t seem to know what’s going on, or haven’t read their meeting agendas, or don’t seem to understand what ‘merit’ or ‘collective interest’ mean.  You could be forgiven for wondering at times if deals are being done: e.g. you vote for me on this and I’ll vote for you on that.   Tension around the table is tangible.  Dis-unified?  Dysfunctional?  Lazy?  Ignorant?  Politically ambitious?   AS A COMMUNITY, WE MUST DO BETTER.

MRRA hears some former Councillors will run for Council in November.   We say, this community needs to move forward, not back. Fresh faces are needed.  New people who are committed to serving Macedon Ranges, who don’t have half an eye on political ambitions and toeing the party line, who aren’t heady with a sense of their own power, who will tell us why they voted the way they did.  People who will fight for the common good and what’s morally and professionally right, not what’s politically or personally expedient.   People who want to truly serve our community and our Shire – all of it, not just the parts that suit them.

Being a Councillor isn’t easy.   It’s lots of work, it eats into private lives and remuneration is small.  But that’s the deal, and people who run for Council know that (or they should).  Committed Councillors put in.  When all Councillors don’t ‘pull their weight’, the community isn’t getting good representation, sound decisions or value for money.    See also Feature “Council Elections, November 26, 2005:  So Much Will Have Changed The Next Time You Vote”

You can form your own view:

PLEASE,

MAKE TIME TO GO TO A COUNCIL MEETING BEFORE NOVEMBER 26

AND JUDGE FOR YOURSELF HOW OUR DEMOCRACY IS WORKING.

Make Sure Your Vote Gives Macedon Ranges A Better Future