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Time for Real Mayors
national |
rights, freedoms and repression |
opinion/analysis
Monday June 19, 2006 15:41 by Cllr Keith Martin
Westport Councillor calls for real mayors with real powers to govern our towns, boroughs, cities and counties It is time to replace unelected Managers with Directly Elected Mayors. We are now fast approaching the annual elections of the head of the town, borough, city and county councils. Currently we have a system in Westport and throughout the country which is based on “muggings turn” by which the parties in power agree a Rota and divide the office up each year among themselves. |
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Comments (3 of 3)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3I agree absolutely that they should be at a very minimum elected. These manager types have way too much power and largely unaccountable.
For too often and in far too many instances we have county council chairman making what are basically dictatorial discussions usually around things like re-zoning and changing the county plan. Time and again these plans have often been carefully drawn up with some but not much negotation with various interested groups only for it all to be overruled by county chairman.
The effort to bring more democracy to our society is very much about making it more accountable and more local. Yet I still find that representative democracy does not live up to what it claims and there should be more direct democracy.
is in no way a democratic solution to inefficient management. Sorry Keith, but ome day you too will grow old and flaccid & if you don't get into the Dail first, the poor people of Westport would have to choose between those individuals who can mount the most effective campaign to win a share of the electorate, whilst abstention would go in increasing. In short, directly elected mayors all too often come from business or commercial interests, hardly ever come from progressive left circles & have been linked to decreased participation (such as votings - attendance at consultations). Furthermore implementation of such a plan would require further legal finetuning of the checks and balances of the elected municipal, town or county council. The London mayor did not just spring out of the ground, the UK engaged in constitutional reform to see created the London Authority first..,
So I can't praise you for this idea at all. when you write real power to make real decisions you mean the power to make unpopular or non-democratic decisions. That power may be the building of a high profit realising toxic dump in the poor part of town, or the comissioning of an award winning hotel design which secretly everyone hates, or the sell off of derelict or unused land to build a disneyland westport..... the possiblities of unpopular decisions one individual might make in 5 years before the ballot box might send them the way of "Othello the jobless" are really quite disturbing.
You may not bring democracy to the people by giving one person more power.
& this is not the first time I've hinted at your caudillismo either. Iremember remarking on your own electoral mandate of elected 11.5% of a poll of 65.6% of electorate.
http://indymedia.ie/article/75264#comment148647
Currently unelected officals make the decisions.
What is democratic about that?
By making one person responsible for decisions and leadership and electing that person you increase the democracy not reduce it.
Directly elected mayors are the future of local government