Anyone thinking of becoming a councillor in Brighton and Hove is invited to learn what the role involves at a public meeting next month.
With local elections due to take place next May, Brighton and Hove City Council is keen to encourage people from a broad range of backgrounds to stand.
Council chief executive Geoff Raw and senior colleagues will speak at two meetings for potential candidates to give a glimpse of life as an elected member.
The council said: “If you’ve ever had concerns about where you live or you want to get involved with the public services Brighton and Hove City Council provides, becoming a local councillor is one way you can become a voice and a decision-maker for your local area and the city.
“On (Thursday) 2 May 2019 voters in Brighton and Hove will choose the local councillors they want to represent them on Brighton and Hove City Council for the next four years and we want to make sure that anyone interested in becoming a local councillor can find out more about the election process and the crucial community role.
“We hope that people from a broad range of backgrounds will stand for election to become local councillors to reflect the diversity of our community.
“This is why we’re holding two meetings for you to discover if you want to become a councillor.
“We’re holding public meetings in November 2018 where you can hear from the council’s chief executive Geoff Raw and the senior management team about the services the council provides and you’ll also have the chance to meet current councillors who can tell you what it’s really like being a councillor, what you’re likely to get involved with and what you’ll have to do if you’re elected.
“It’s also your opportunity to ask questions like do I get paid, what support will I get if I’ve never been a councillor before, what is the statutory role of a councillor, what can I actually change, how do local government finances work and do I have to join a political party to become a councillor?”
Almost every councillor in Brighton and Hove has been elected as a representative of a political party but there have occasionally been independents in the town hall chamber.
The two meetings are due to take place on Thursday 8 November from 6pm to 8pm and from 10am to noon on Tuesday 13 November – both in the council chamber at Hove Town Hall council chamber.
The council said: “You don’t need to let us know that you’re coming to one of the sessions and you’re more than welcome to drop in at any time during these meetings.”
For any assistance at the sessions or to confirm attendance in advance, contact the council’s Democratic Services Team by email at democratic.services@brighton-hove.gov.uk or phone 01273 291066.
The Headline should read ‘How to become an Independent Councillor’because if not they will have to go through a selection process otherwise, and if you are a member of a particular faction of a Party or Group your chances become even less.Look what has happened recently to some standing Councillors being deselected.
The next Council Election could be very interesting, and so, as you say, officers might want a few outside the Party set-up. Meanwhile, the terrible time over Hove’s Carnegie Library through the whole of the current Administration has highlighted the way in which officers attempt to ride roughshod over Councillors. It is shocking that four times in twelve years highly-paid officers tried to close the Carnegie (two of these attempts were not public at the time but fended off behind the scenes).
Anyone who is not a hard left momentum socialist & doesn’t want our city to become Liverpool mark 2 – like the Derek Hatton years, please step forward if you have our cities heart at hand.