Tuesday, April 05, 2011

Decision day comes early in Paradise-sur-Gipping

I would freely admit that the likelihood of a contested election in Creeting St Peter is low. Indeed, in 2007, the last time that an election was due, only two candidates put their heads above the parapet, making the Parish Council inquorate from its outset.

Luckily, there has been progress this year, and all five sitting councillors have been elected unopposed, making this the first external election I have ever won. I'm not unique in that respect, as my fellow councillors, Dan and Dean, had never even fought an election, let alone won one.

So, what do we do now? Our first priority is to take over responsibility for the playground project, as the village's community council has found it difficult to attract volunteers to take on organisational roles. Given that the community council has the equivalent of more than two years of our budget in the bank, it rather increases the scale of our responsibilities, and I'm going to have to keep a close eye on the funds, given my position as 'parish councillor who does numbers'.

Up until now, I haven't really considered myself to be a 'proper' councillor, without a mandate or visible support. However, I have put myself before the electorate of Creeting St Peter, and whilst the lack of opposition is not perhaps a ringing endorsement, it does grant me four years to see how far we can progress the village.

I think that it's going to be just fine...

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