Why vote for me in this council election?

Hi there,

I sent the following letter to the editors (Merimbula News Weekly, Eden Magnet, Bega District News) this week (Tuesday 7 August 2012), as there appears to be a lot of people telling any potential candidate what the important issues are, how to vote on them, or indeed a number of potential candidates with buring passions of just one persuasion, which I doubt would have the capability or drive to provide representation to all the community across all the issues, known and yet to surface...

To whom I say - if you want something to happen a certain way, then the only way to it ensure a satisfactory outcome is to probably just do it yourself...nominate your own candidacy. And if you have the guts to stand, then have the guts to state what you stand for...

I want to create opportuntiy for our shire to be a great place to live, a future where our children could choose to stay and still find good employment and education, a vibrant and energetic community balancing fairness and diversity without compromising opportunites for genuine growth. Phew! to do this we need a real vision for our future, transparency in council processes and decisions and more community involvement, not just a bureacratic spending plan.

here is the letter:

Wow, all these people writing in with their expert advice, guidance, instructions, directions, and outright demands for what issues should be hot topics and the expected behaviours for any candidates in the upcoming election…but only on their pet topics of course! And don’t they make it seem easy, the answers obvious! Puhleese! Representing your community just isn’t that simple – you just can’t please everyone all of the time. But if we get the government we deserve, then surely we deserve better! If they want something, then they should do it – don’t demand someone else to do the hard yards for you, because it won’t happen. I think betting on someone making decisions for my community for the next 4 years based on a single issue or belief is irresponsible. Representing your community requires someone with the guts to be willing to be informed and then make the hard decisions – not someone whom thinks they know all the answers already, or follows a leader. I am nominating because I want my community to be vibrant and successful, because I want my children to have good local choices in their future. Isn’t this what we should be demanding? Isn’t this what we deserve?