Local Action, Global Change: Vote Leo # 1

In November 2019, the Isle of Man Green Party, started its campaign for the local election gearing up for April 2020. The party has held meetings in Douglas, Ramsey, Peel and Port Erin so far, with more dates for your diary from January 2020. If you would like to keep up to date with these dates, please check the Green Calendar, or our social media pages:

In the first of two articles kicking off the “Local Action, Global Change” campaign, Isle of Man Green Party Election Strategist, Leo Cussons, talks about the role of a local politician, why he stood in the election and the process of running in an election.

What is a Commissioner?

One of the main functions of a local authority is to ensure that they provide the required services to their ratepayers, and in order to assist them in doing this, local authorities are required to set a rate for their district. The Island’s local authorities also undertake a range of other functions, as set out in the list below, although these vary according to the size of the authority:

The list below provides an idea of where a Commissioner will formulate/scrutinise policies.

Public information and advice
Tourism
Refuse collection
Street-lighting
Environmental health
Public conveniences
Parks, playgrounds and other leisure facilities
Control of dogs
Housing
Car parking
Street cleaning
Gully emptying
Removal of Weeds
Maintenance of Highway verges
Hedge trimming
Building control (currently Douglas and Onchan undertake this function for their own areas)
Libraries
Trees and high hedges
Abandoned vehicles
Preservation of War Memorials
Allocate/Scrutinise capital expenditure for reoccurring items like the services above and for one-off items like local authority building projects, community events and consultants.
Manage the Local Authorities social housing stock
Provide consultation for planning applications and government consultations

You don’t get a salary for being a Commissioner, but there is a stipend you can claim for reimbursement of travel to meetings. The Commissioners meet once a month to discuss and make decisions.

Why I decided to stand

As the Isle of Man Green Party seeks representation both at a national and local level, a lot of the issues we are concerned about require Local Authorities to work together and I felt that representation at this level was crucial to seeing change actioned. For example, in the south each Local Authority pays into the maintenance and cost of the Southern Amenity Site. There has been much discussion at Party meetings on our Island’s waste management, and there is a feeling within the Party that the Southern Amenity Site does not run with a keen enough interest in recycling and waste management, especially in regards to removal of curbside collections, removal of cardboard recycling and the item exchange. To bring about change in this area with regards to the cost and the processes there we need to have representatives on all south Local Authorities.

Of course there were personal reasons which also shaped my decision to run. I have family in the Ballasalla area and want to be able to enact change on their behalf too.

Process

There are a number of technical requirements that need to be fulfilled before one can stand for a by-election, and also if you would like to be put forward by the Isle of Man Green Party. If you want to represent the Party, as I was, there is a requirement that Party members vote on this. I was formally accepted by the Party as a candidate for the Ballasalla by-election, after an explanation as to why I wanted standing at our August meeting in Ramsey.

You need to be over 18 years of age to stand for an election, even though the voting age is 16. You need to secure a proposer and seconder from the local community. These people need to be happy to show public support as their names are published in the paper. I am grateful to former Commissioner Dave Williams and also admin/owner of “MHK’s They Work For You” Facebook page, Eddie Power for their support.

When you have submitted your nomination paper. It is usual to understand how many other nomination papers have been requested/received. In the Ballasalla by-election I was informed about eight or nine had been requested and when I delivered mine there had been five submitted. It is possible at this stage to withdraw from the process without anyone knowing.

Once the deadline has passed, the papers are verified by the appointed advocate to check that they have been correctly filled in by the nominees with residents that are on the electoral roll, a copy of which you are entitled to when you collect your nomination papers. That evening I was informed via email that my nomination had been accepted and that I had until noon the following day to withdraw my nomination.

It is not compulsory to have a manifesto or calling cards. In the Ballasalla by-election, I was one of two who produced a manifesto. However, as accountability is part of participatory democracy and one of the Isle of Man Green Party’s constitutional principles, as a Party we would encourage it. We have an election subcommittee that provides support and feedback on producing a manifesto and other matters relating to your campaign. Once I had collated my research and I understood what the topical issues in Malew were, I was able to write my manifesto. This was then passed back and forth between the election committee and myself, with the added bonus that experienced eyes of three of the Isle of Man Green Party’s already elected Commissioners were able to support and provide input.

Read part two here…