Preferential voting may be the decider in mayoral poll
AFTER a quiet period in the run-up to the Southern Downs Regional Council election, things are starting to hot up.
Four candidates have announced they will stand for mayor; candidates are coming out of the woodwork for council.
The election will be on March 19 but won't be like a state or federal election.
Voting is by postal ballot which means the candidates have virtually six weeks from now to prove to the voters they should be part of the new council of nine.
It will be a new dimension with preferential voting for mayor.
A vote for a candidate you like but don't expect to win will not be wasted. Your number two vote and beyond for mayor will count.
If we had eight for Mayor, someone with the largest vote, say 25 per cent, won't win if the majority have given them number eight.
Congratulations to all for offering themselves for office.
They do get paid but they are on tap and open to all criticism, social media allows criticism with a phone touch.
As a local government councillor from two amalgamations ago, I recall once saying when there were arguments about a small bit of council land that "all arguments are over land, love and money".
The money (rates, debt, services) debate will be to the fore in election 2016.
