The Good Councillor

We now come to the last in our Types of Councillor series. It’s true, I haven’t covered EVERY type of rubbish Councillor – how could I? They are legion. But I think I have made my point. And so with my final Councillor type, I wanted to touch on the rarest type:

The Good Councillor

(Beneficius Equus)

Ironically, there is only ONE type of this Councillor and even more ironically, in some ways, it’s actually the easiest type of Councillor to be. In fact, any one of the rubbish Councillors could transform into The Good Councillor any time they wanted to. All they have to do - is their job.

The Good Councillor serves the community. They try their best to provide oversight in the interests of the whole district, performance manage their CEO, argue to keep service levels commensurate with ratepayers' reasonable expectations and argue against wasteful expenditure. They try to bring structure, transparency and accountability into the process, through sound policies and frameworks. They read and question reports, apply critical thinking skills and ask difficult questions. They listen to their ratepayers and weigh their expectations in their decision-making. They don’t always get it right, but they make every effort to come to decisions that are fair and best for the community they swore to serve.

For this, it seems, The Good Councillor is typically ostracised, demonised and vilified. Their questioning of reports tends to be met with hostility and their requests for further information refused and rebuffed derisively.  Any questioning or constructive criticism of proposals or projects is perceived as unnecessary negativity and lately, adverse reflection.  For attempting to carry out their central role of oversight, they are labelled as troublemakers, made into pariahs and vexatiously sanctioned.

Being in the minority – and they are almost always in the minority – they gain little traction and consequently, are almost as ineffectual as the rubbish Councillors, in governing the district. Often they become disenchanted and leave or are drummed out of office.

So here’s the point of this series. We need more of these people. How do you know if you have a good or a rubbish Councillor? There’s no quick answer and some of it will be in the eye of the beholder. But for that, you have to look at the decisions your local government is making and specifically, those making them. You have to pay attention. You need to wake up!

Because Good Councillors need to be in a majority to forge a new way forward and get local governments back on a path that brings order and accountability.  This, in turn, will bring rates under control and service levels back to a fair and decent standard.

Do you think it can happen? You may as well believe in unicorns!

#wakeupjoondalup