[milton-chat] Fw: Please remember to vote on Thursday 3rd May

[Paul Oldham]

On 30/04/07 11:52 David Chamberlin wrote:

> Wading in... I was rather taken aback by the most recent leaflet - I'm not
> sure I was at the same meeting last Monday night. At the meeting I attended,
> the Council Officer (who has a name: Simon McIntosh) did really well to
> answer questions as fully as he could under quite hostile questioning. I
> would have thought a prospective District Councillor should be careful not
> to annoy the Officers *before* getting elected. It doesn't bode well for any
> future working relationship.

Yup. Very poor. Simon is a very senior officer too, reporting directly 
to Greg Harlock the Chief Exec. And I agree with your analysis: I 
thought he managed very well in a very difficult situation where people 
were asking him political questions which weren't really up to him to 
answer.

As for Silver Acre (which is the main story on the front of that 
leaflet) she didn't even turn up in time for the planning meeting to 
discuss it and I had to bully her to get her into the room so seeing her 
lead with it is a little surreal.

Oh, and having just given up my morning for yet another meeting about 
saving the Park it's nice to see from that leaflet that she's still 
saving the Park too. I'd love to know what happened to that UKP300 she 
claimed to have made on the disco - it certainly hasn't ended up in the 
campaign bank account (not that it would make much difference anyway: 
I'm trying to find UKP1,000 per week, every week).

> On a more general note (and I know I said a similar thing just before the
> last elections, but I think it bears repeating) - please do use your
> precious, hard-won vote on Thursday. I know it's not quite the same as the
> recent Presidential vote in France, but they did get a turnout of over 80%,
> which is unheard of this side of La Manche. Democracy may not be perfect,
> but the only way it can work properly is through full participation.
> Otherwise we get the representatives we deserve, not necessarily the ones we
> prefer.

What he said. And if you don't think any of the three candidates 
deserves your vote then go anyway and write on the ballot paper why, 
thus spoiling your paper. All the candidates and/or their agents get to 
read spoiled ballot papers so it's a way of getting a message across too 
(and one I've used myself in the past although I had a slightly 
different message to put over and marked "1", "2" ,"3" next to the 
candidates in my order of preference and write "We need STV now" at the 
top ;-)).

-- 
Paul