The people of Glen Innes have spoken and they have been ignored. The decision to appoint Cr Carol Sparks as deputy mayor is a slap in the face for the voting public.
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As expected Steve Toms was elected as mayor at last Thursday’s council meeting, a fair enough call as he did get the most votes from the Glen Innes public. That might be a good indicator that he was preferred as mayor.
But then came the vote for deputy mayor. Four councillors voted against former mayor Colin Price.
One reason given for the vote was that the public had called for change and the four were just carrying out the wishes of the popular vote, but that reason does not pass the pub test.
The popular vote would have allowed for Cr Parsons as the councillor with the second highest vote count, to be installed as deputy.
He did not wish to run and that is fair enough, but if that was the case then the next highest vote winner was indeed Cr Price.
It appears by vote tally that he was not as unpopular as his fellow councillors believe and removing him smacked of a personal vendetta, hardly a good base for making decisions.
The new council has only listened to the members of the public they wanted to listen to.
Social media is a great tool for communication but often the opinions expressed on it are mistaken as the majority view. Social media is a beast whereby those of like mind can get on, often with false names to protect their real identities and sprout all kinds of thoughts without recrimination.
The four councillors might be guilty of paying too much attention to social media hyperbole and not enough to the actual will of the people.
The only opinion that matters in politics is the one expressed on election day by the people and on election day in Glen Innes Cr Price received the third most votes, that is not up for debate, it is a fact. If councillor Parsons decided not to run for deputy and the council was really listening to the people, then Cr Price would have been elected as deputy.
Cr Sparks is a very capable person, she is smart and honest and so far has shown leadership by answering questions put to her honestly and without political spin, that is refreshing. She is off to a good start and we wish her well.
Craig Thomson
I am a media and communications professional with experience across print, digital, social and radio broadcasts. I am currently the Editor of Australian Community Media's Launceston Examiner.
I am a media and communications professional with experience across print, digital, social and radio broadcasts. I am currently the Editor of Australian Community Media's Launceston Examiner.
