11:58am Friday 28th March 2008
HERE we go: the countdown has begun for the biggest election for a single local authority ever held in the North-East. With the Notice of Poll published yesterday, the process of electing 126 councillors to the new unitary Durham County Council has begun. It makes North Yorkshire County Council with its 72 members look almost small in comparison.
On May 1, the county's residents will elect those responsible for a body with the economic size of a small state. Its 22,000 staff will make it the second biggest employer in the region, second only to the NHS.
At one level, it is a frightening prospect. An organisation that big has enormous capacity to make a terrible mess of things. On the other hand, an authority with so much power has tremendous capacity to make a positive difference to the people it serves.
So much depends on these 126 councillors. We need bright, articulate, enterprising and innovative people to come forward to serve the county. They will have to have those qualities to make a halfdecent job of representing the large constituencies they represent and providing the executive direction for the council.
Frankly, we doubt the capacity of many of those on the existing county council to do that.
We don't begrudge the new councillors any of the allowances and equipment it is suggested they receive to do their job. It is a massive task they are being asked to discharge.
They should not be denied the tools to do the job effectively.
But we must have the most able people elected. We would urge those readers who live in the county to disregard their traditional voting allegiances and examine closely the people who put themselves forward.
Do they have some or all of the qualities listed above?
Have they any experience of managing, not necessarily a business, but some form of enterprise? Do they have some qualification to serve their community other than a party membership card?
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