by Soupdragon » 11 Apr 2017, 11:34
Eddukkk12 wrote: 11 Apr 2017, 00:15
Not if your only trying to raise awareness of the issue you dont need to wait for the election. As i said its a gimmick but given the number of votes most coucil members get (hundereds rather then thousands) it might get a few asking questions about issues raised
Oh, how I hate to rain on people's parade: but do you have any idea how difficult it actually is to get elected?
As I recall, a 'gull' (and I'm pretty sure it wasn't Gilbert, but I could be wrong) declared as a candidate for directly elected mayor back in 2005, on a platform of free parking or some such, but backed off pretty sharpish when he realised just how much he would stand to lose if he didn't get elected (as a minimum, it was £500 to stand and £500 to have an entry in the council's publication, before anything else). Yes, you might raise awareness for a few brief moments, but - believe me - you won't get elected here.
I wholeheartedly agree that we need a much broader spectrum of people representing us, especially at local government level where decisions really do affect our everyday lives, but to try and break the two-party system that has operated for yonks now in Torbay is hugely difficult. There's a single ward in Brixham which is almost a different country; other than that, there has been just one person standing as an independent elected locally in Torbay in about the last 40-odd years.
Barring a by-election, the next Torbay local elections are in May 2019. Being deadly serious, if you want to get elected as an independent, I suggest you start work right now. It will be all the more difficult as we don't have a daily newspaper in the Bay (the WMN sells only 400 copies in Torquay), and barely a weekly one to all extents and purposes anymore, so there's few opportunities for publicity at a local level.
Raising awareness via a website is an idea, but bear in mind that this very site, the top result in any Google search for a TUFC forum, barely makes a dent in the knowledge of TUFC-related matters to either the local population or even to the majority of people who attend TUFC matches. This site, together with the TFF and BTPIR, has been warning for years now about the issues our club has been facing, and it's made no difference at all to the coverage in any local media or the awareness of the average TUFC fan.
If you want to get elected, as a minimum you'll need to deliver regular and frequent newsletters to every single address in your chosen ward to keep your face and name in front of people, and be prepared to hold regular public meetings where either no-one will turn up or people will just want to know what you're going to do about parking or Oldway/the Pavilion. You could work your backside off for the next two years and still get nowhere.
It's not impossible, of course. But if Nick Bye, arguably the most well-known name in local politics, and the sitting incumbent at the time, couldn't win a mayoral election as an independent, then its fair to say that it's not going to be easy for an unknown.
And, speaking personally, I would never give my vote to a gimmick.
[quote=Eddukkk12 post_id=203322 time=1491869742 user_id=23669]
Not if your only trying to raise awareness of the issue you dont need to wait for the election. As i said its a gimmick but given the number of votes most coucil members get (hundereds rather then thousands) it might get a few asking questions about issues raised
[/quote]
Oh, how I hate to rain on people's parade: but do you have any idea how difficult it actually is to get elected?
As I recall, a 'gull' (and I'm pretty sure it wasn't Gilbert, but I could be wrong) declared as a candidate for directly elected mayor back in 2005, on a platform of free parking or some such, but backed off pretty sharpish when he realised just how much he would stand to lose if he didn't get elected (as a minimum, it was £500 to stand and £500 to have an entry in the council's publication, before anything else). Yes, you might raise awareness for a few brief moments, but - believe me - you won't get elected here.
I wholeheartedly agree that we need a much broader spectrum of people representing us, especially at local government level where decisions really do affect our everyday lives, but to try and break the two-party system that has operated for yonks now in Torbay is hugely difficult. There's a single ward in Brixham which is almost a different country; other than that, there has been just one person standing as an independent elected locally in Torbay in about the last 40-odd years.
Barring a by-election, the next Torbay local elections are in May 2019. Being deadly serious, if you want to get elected as an independent, I suggest you start work right now. It will be all the more difficult as we don't have a daily newspaper in the Bay (the WMN sells only 400 copies in Torquay), and barely a weekly one to all extents and purposes anymore, so there's few opportunities for publicity at a local level.
Raising awareness via a website is an idea, but bear in mind that this very site, the top result in any Google search for a TUFC forum, barely makes a dent in the knowledge of TUFC-related matters to either the local population or even to the majority of people who attend TUFC matches. This site, together with the TFF and BTPIR, has been warning for years now about the issues our club has been facing, and it's made no difference at all to the coverage in any local media or the awareness of the average TUFC fan.
If you want to get elected, as a minimum you'll need to deliver regular and frequent newsletters to every single address in your chosen ward to keep your face and name in front of people, and be prepared to hold regular public meetings where either no-one will turn up or people will just want to know what you're going to do about parking or Oldway/the Pavilion. You could work your backside off for the next two years and still get nowhere.
It's not impossible, of course. But if Nick Bye, arguably the most well-known name in local politics, and the sitting incumbent at the time, couldn't win a mayoral election as an independent, then its fair to say that it's not going to be easy for an unknown.
And, speaking personally, I would never give my vote to a gimmick.
