FIVE years ago when the question of a referendum for a popularly-elected mayor was last properly debated, this newspaper wrote that the reluctance of a number of councillors to ask people their opinion was a case of councillors not trusting the people of Bathurst to make the right decision.
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The editorial prompted a furious reaction, particularly from Councillor Monica Morse.
“We do trust residents but residents have to trust us,” Cr Morse told council at the time.
“We are not denying our residents a democracy. In a democracy you can remove a leader.
“Just imagine the rubbish they will write if we go down this path. I don’t trust the media, especially when they write unfair comments like that.”
Five years on, nothing has changed.
And while Cr Morse might not like it, this is still a question of trust.
This is still a question of whether councillors believe the Bathurst public has even the right to be consulted on the question of a popularly-elected mayor.
This is not a question [yet] of whether a popularly-elected mayor is a good or bad thing for the community – that is a debate for down the track.
Yes, as Cr Morse said five years ago, there are concerns with the concept – such as the fear that the elected mayor and councillors might not be able to work together cohesively.
There is also the question of what to do if a mayor elected for four years proves to be a poor choice after two.
But there are also advantages, such the stability of long-term leadership rather than a possible of turnstile of mayors every 12 months [soon to be every two years] and the sense that a popularly-elected mayor would be the “people’s mayor” and carry even greater clout in the community as a result.
Both sides of the debate deserve an airing but that will never happen unless councillors get over the precious notion that the public is not fit to be asked its opinion.
Orange councillors voted five years ago to hold a referendum and the result came back in favour of a popularly-elected mayor – a mayor Orange residents will elect in September.
A referendum held here, if that was ever allowed to happen, might as easily return a negative result but at least people will have had their say.
Surely that’s the least we deserve.