Stoke on Trent City Council 2011 Elections starts here - What questions would you ask a Councillor candidate
In May, Stoke on Trent will see one of the biggest shake ups in it's democratic history with the creation of new wards, reduced Councillor numbers per ward which as most wards will have just one Councillor, four years of ineptitude might seem a very long time?
We should be choosing our next representative not just from a political point of view, but also from a competence stance. I'm calling on the people of Tunstall, Packmoor and Chell, Burslem, Sandyford and Goldenhill to treat this next election not just as a political choice but as more than that. Treat it as a job interview and you are on the panel.
From your list of questions I'll then be posing these questions for the candidate to respond to, and publish the answers on the site. So if you want to know something, ask it now.
If you want to post a question anonymously, please email me the question matt@mytunstall.co.uk
Comments
What are your (the candidate
What are your (the candidate as you call them) the biggest problems facing this area?
What issues would you tackle first?
Without very much budget how will you implement your ideas?
How would you generate income for the local area?
What are your thoughts on Anti Social Behavior?
Who should be running of the
Who should be running of the council the Council Officers or the Councilors.
How do you envisage keeping local facilities such as Tunstall Pool Open.
How would you deal with Anti-Social Behavior.
How are the council / you going to get Business to move to the area.
How will you get money spent in our area in preference to other areas.
Will you fight the officers
Will you fight the officers of the council and return the power back to its rightful place (in the hands of the councillor)?
Will you take steps to have the 106 money (with acrued interest) returned to its rightfull owners.
The area that it was designated for?
Who will be your priority your party, your voters, or the council?
Will you serve the voters irrespective of political beliefs?
Mike Barnes has stated that he will not work with the BNP.
In a sense I agree with
In a sense I agree with Barnes, the BNP's politics don't sit to well with me either, that's just my personal opinion.
However I don't think it's a Councillor's right not to serve a segment of the community, black, white, brown, yellow, waves a red flag, a pink flag, a striped flag. Any Councillor worth their salt will judge each situation on it's merit. If there is something they just can't put their name to, that's a different matter, but to rule it out is just preduced and victimisation. Is this to do with the EDF march when he jumped onto the UAF bandwagon after having a bad couple of months with party and press?
Just one question Will you
Just one question
Will you actually do anything for our community or do we have to continue to do everything ourselves.
What past experience do you
What past experience do you have that makes you think you are prepared for the responsibly of being a Councillor?
What are your major strengths?
What are your major weaknesses?
What is more important, to fix a street light or to install a park bench, and why?
What experience do you have in securing funding?
What are your thoughts on keeping a weekly/bi weekly blog of
ongoing ward budget?
a) work you are carrying out?
c) key local news?
What green initiatives do you think can benefit all in the ward?
Which members of the community are your priority?
I found a post on Pits N Pots
I found a post on Pits N Pots where Mick Williams quotes Tony Benn, and asks everyone one wanting power, why they want it.
How will you communicate what
How will you communicate what you plan to do / have done with us?
How will you engage the electorate?
Where do you see the line being drawn between the community solving their problems and the local government doing it?
What are your views on a Big Society?
Thanks folks, keep them
Thanks folks, keep them coming.
Does any one have any questions about any specific local matters as well?
Jon, he has stated this on
Jon, he has stated this on many occasions.
We need councillors who will be prepared to work with anyone (irrespective of poltical party) that improves the community's lives, not follow some numpty in London, Birmingham, where ever.
This has been a major problem with this council, with councillors serving party clowns, and their own ends instead of the people that elected them.
Also, do we have anyone who
Also, do we have anyone who works in recruiting who looks at the site? What sort of aptitude questions do you ask?
In your view, what are the
In your view, what are the major challenges facing this ward and what do you think a councillor's role is to address them?
General question that would probe local knowledge and their interpretation of what they can do/achieve (looking up the thread, this is quite similar to Jon's, so maybe just a vote for his!)
What are your connection to
What are your connection to this ward, why have you chosen to represent this ward?
Just a few questions really,
Just a few questions really, but I think they are important to this area.
1) Can you explain -in detail- your strategy to bring big business into the area, particularly in sectors such as finance which is a well paid sector and is entirely under represented in Stoke on Trent? (Remember the business rates on office premises is much lower here than in other areas.)
2) If you do manage to attract businesses into the area, what will you do to ensure that a high proportion of managerial and supervisory jobs go to local people rather than allowing companies to import their top paid employees from outside the area? (As is the case now)
3) What will you do to bring local salary levels up to the National average, or at least the average in the West Midlands?
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