I have just had cause to read this article again. At the time I had given it the attention it deserved; very little. Upon reflection, I see it as a botched attempt at generating some positive media. The ‘candidate’ claims councillors were sleeping. Whether it is true or not, I don’t know. I would not necessarily be surprised, but 49 minutes… My concern over this claim is that a person who wishes to represent the residents and their needs is not willing to share the names. If the desire to effect change and represent the residents needs is your driving force, it would be no secret.
“I clearly stated what I saw and I feel the community needs to know that. It has to stop.”
“We are relying on these people to make the right decisions and I am not sure they can do that if they aren’t focussed and there for the right reasons.”
So why would you withhold this information? Surely they should be able to answer their accuser? Isn’t withholding the names in opposition to representing the needs of the residents?
Whatever... 
Kylie I do not agree with all you say and post ( you have that right with me also lol) but in this instance YES completely agree with you . My resonse to prospective candidates is – ” be true to yourself ” ( or convictions or press statements)
It is a difficult thing for prospective candidates. At the end of the day the debate is, should we continue with the status quo or do we need new ideas and energy. If the status quo is councilors falling asleep at meetings I personally think that should be debated during the campaign as it is indicative of the need for change. The most used description of this present council I hear is its in a state of lethargy. The CEO is working out to his retirement, several councilors have been on the pension for longer than children are allowed to live before they are made to go to school, our Mayor is lashing out at candidates who are ruffling his feathers and threatening his nest and the city is standing still. We have had councilors serve that long that they are needing to address the massive cockups they made 20 something years ago when they let the Warehouse position it self outside the CBD. They have bought their ideas, had their go but are to afraid of the real world to move aside and give someone else a go. Bit like the COC directorships
We have to many, happy to hold out their hands for whatever crumbs the CEO decides to give them and in some cases like the ICC Property Company take fees from the company that does nothing. There are far to many there for nothing more than the free ride and the perks and sleeping during meetings couldn’t make that more obvious.
Of course we don’t want cllrs asleep but my concern is what the purpose of espousing that these cllrs were asleep and not saying who. The debate cannot be had without all the information. It reminds me of the child in the playground calling “I know something you don’t know.” It is not in the spirit of representing the needs of the residents.
I never picked up that there was no names used and agree statements should have details rather than innuendo.
The saddest thing of all in the south is our daily newspaper will fail the community totally when it comes to putting the detail and facts in front of their readers so people can make informed decisions. They will dwell on the stuff like who is funding whose campaign but fail to report the stuff about the gravy train politics or anything about those who put their names forward to make a difference. The standard of our daily news is spiraling down and will soon be little more than a tabloid desperately trying to grab readers attention with the odd bit of sensationalism. Todays headlines were classic crap. Pardon my language but it does drive you to distraction.
The biggest thing holding the south back is the growing gap between the local authorities and the business community. The gap is widening and if nothing changes at this election it will become a gulf that will take years to fix. That’s why the Times is obsessing about who is funding who as they know the problem but rather than put a positive spin on it want to dig up some gossip