It’s that time once again, when a parish councillor’s thoughts turn to the question of re-election. Given my occasionally erratic presence on Creeting St Peter Parish Council - I’ve been co-opted twice and resigned once, so the electoral cycle appears not to have taken - I’ve only previously put in one set of nomination papers, eight years ago, so it’s been a case of making sure I got the forms printed, completed and signed.
Fortunately, despite many distractions, I managed to get it done this week, and so wandered around the corner from my conveniently located office to Endeavour House, the glass and steel base for both the County and District Councils, to hand three forms over and make myself an official candidate.
And so, hopefully, the campaign starts here. Well, I say “campaign”, but we haven’t had a contested election here in recent memory, and there are no burning issues likely to provoke a mass defenestration of the serving councillors, so it’s possible that all candidates will be elected unopposed.
In some ways, that’s a positive endorsement of the work we’ve done over the past four years, but in truth, whilst I do think that we’ve been pretty effective, I suspect that most residents are just not that engaged. After all, it’s hard to claim that we have a significant impact on their day to day lives.
So, I await news of the close of nominations with a degree of equanimity. And, if there is a contest, my thoughts will turn to a leaflet...
Fortunately, despite many distractions, I managed to get it done this week, and so wandered around the corner from my conveniently located office to Endeavour House, the glass and steel base for both the County and District Councils, to hand three forms over and make myself an official candidate.
And so, hopefully, the campaign starts here. Well, I say “campaign”, but we haven’t had a contested election here in recent memory, and there are no burning issues likely to provoke a mass defenestration of the serving councillors, so it’s possible that all candidates will be elected unopposed.
In some ways, that’s a positive endorsement of the work we’ve done over the past four years, but in truth, whilst I do think that we’ve been pretty effective, I suspect that most residents are just not that engaged. After all, it’s hard to claim that we have a significant impact on their day to day lives.
So, I await news of the close of nominations with a degree of equanimity. And, if there is a contest, my thoughts will turn to a leaflet...
