Direct Democracy in Action

This posting is from Jim Powell.

The elections give us the opportunity to take control of our Ward Councillors

Encourage your members to only vote for the candidate who signs a commitment similar to below:

Below is the suggested commitment by the candidate to the voters in the ward. Knock it about and modify it as you see fit but get the commitment from the candidate or all candidates in your ward. It is very difficult to get the voters to vote in an open, not secret, petition against a representative.

Direct Democracy in Action

How to ensure that your councillor is directly responsible to the electorate after the 2011 municipal elections

If you want more control over the day-to-day running of your town or city, you need to ensure that ward councillors can be held to account by the people who voted them into office.

So, during the election campaign for the upcoming municipal elections, ask your selected candidate to sign the following social contract as a commitment to direct and measurable democracy:

I, (candidate), acknowledge that I am effectively an employee of the voters, since it is the voters who elect  ward councillors into office and who, through payment of their rates and taxes, pay the salaries of all local government officials.

I therefore commit myself to direct democracy in the following ways:

·         I commit to regular and effective consultation with the voting public through public meetings and continuous communication with local residents’ associations and community groups.

·         I agree to vote in Council in accordance with the wishes of the voters, who may from time to time be polled by means of a referendum similar in format to that used for Council petitions.

·         I commit to ensuring that the wishes of my constituency are effectively communicated and advocated for in Council and at all levels of local government.

·         I commit to ensuring that the by-laws are upheld and that service delivery is efficient and effective.

·         I commit to being held accountable for my performance by the voters.

I further agree that the voters in my ward should be able to remove me from office. Should 25% of the number of voters who voted in my constituency in the election that voted me sign an open petition to have me removed from office, I will comply with their wishes and resign. A petition of this nature may not, however, be initiated within 6 months of me taking office or when an election date has been set and may not continue once an election date has been set.

Should I not follow the results of a recall petition or should I refuse to resign as required by the recall process, I will donate R100,000 to the community, for use in the community in a way to be decided by the voters in my ward.

Signed _____________(Community Organisation)

Signed______________(Candidate)

The politician might ask “don’t you trust me?”

The reply is “Only if you commit yourself to control by your employers, the voters before the election.”

Regards

Jim Powell