SAY no to an elected mayor . . .
During the next few days there will be a ballot paper dropping on your doormat giving you the opportunity to vote on another tranche of local government reorganisation.
This one sets out to concentrate power in the hands of one person with a few selected (by him or her) other individuals in what is to be called 'the executive'.
Such a system is fraught with many difficulties and is not suitable in an area such as West Devon because of its size and geography.
One major problem in a rural district is the difficulty of engaging the electorate and to have a core of semi-professionals of higher rank than your elected ones will make such contact more remote.
The old phrase 'It is ain't broke don't mend it' applies in that the present system works reasonably well. You know that your local councillor has the same clout as everyone else but under the new regime it will not be so. Decisions may be made faster but speed is not necessarily the only qualification when one assesses effective government.
Remember, of the 16 authorities that have so far had a referendum quite a big majority have rejected the call to change and will be keeping the present set-up!
Derek Godfrey-Brown
Larkbeare
Okehampton