The post you are reporting:
Sue, Vic, David, Chris, Roger, Watty and others, I really appreciate you all taking time out of your busy days to contribute on here. I also appreciate how it must feel to believe in what you are doing but only getting sniped at for it. Unfortunately that goes with the territory, but you all know that.
As for standing at an election, my job doesn't allow me to be in Dover often enough to make that a viable option for me.
However, if I did stand it would be on a starter platform containing the following:
1. Minimum 10% reduction in DDC/DTC/Parish costs
2. Minimum 10% reduction in DDC/DTC/Parish headcount
3. Creation of Tourism Department (3 souls maximum) with a speciific and measurable and publicised brief on regenerating tourist income. This with a longer term view of getting places like the Staircase, Roman Painted House etc., open for the public at a small charge, discounted for residents who pay their Council Tax.
4. Formalisation of Roger's role as Business Development Officer, plus one assistant with a specific and measurable and publicised brief on regenerating commericial activity.
5. The taking of firm legal action against property owners who leave their assets to decay.
6. Weekly collections of refuse and fortnightly collections of recyclable materials (including plastics).
7. 20% reduction of contributions to KCC, unless KCC address their high cost base first.
8. Requirement for all registered unemployed to perform some form of social work in exchange for benefits.
9. Requirement for all hiring companies to interview a 25% quota of over 50's for vacancies.
10. Requirment for local Chamber of Trade to be more active/aggresive in their activities but supported by Council.
11. Mayoral elections to be public not private and open to the public for voting.
Now, obviously the above are off the top of my head and would require serious work to bring them to the point of being sensible policies, and I am sure they are much easier to list here than actually complete. However, the watchword would always be "ACTION" and any traditional activity leading to the stalling or delivery would be publicly challenged, or, just plain ignored.
If we are to change this town for the better then we need to be fearless, aggressive in our pursuit of improvement and also adopt a sort of Thatcherite approach to whoever wants to take our tax money off us; i.e. KCC and Central Government. So, something like the local contribution to the Police would be frozen until such times as Dover saw extra services for the extra funds being paid, which hasn't been the case for the last 5 years or so. If it doesn't benefit Dover we shouldn't pay for it.
Okay, there you have it. My tin hat is on and I am ready to deal with the ensuing flack. However, I would ask for suggestions as to how to make this possible rather that the usual "you can't do that because" stuff usually dished out by those who think they have all the answers. Let's find methods to achieve rather that reason no to do. Is that possible? We must always think and ask, and get other too as well, "Is this good for Dover". That should be the criteria of whether something gets time, effort and possibly money, or not.