As my younger son put it so humorously, the town council is the police community support officer of the local government system: they look good in uniform but have no real power whatsoever.
The odd thing about independent Christine Ellis's flier, also delivered with the Clwyd Connection, is that she doesn't shout her name. It's a little hidden. Her flyer, though, is a little more realistic. 'There are opportunities to strengthen the relationship between our community and the council to make things happen'. We thought that things were happening, anyway. She is majoring on being my (and your) representative on the town council. 'My vision is to bring your voice back to the table' will probably strike a chord with those who feel that the town council is a closed shop. No false promises about areas outside the town council's control and her statement 'Councils can do big things and make a real difference' has a certain Gavin Harris ring to it.
In keeping with this blog's aspiration for political neutrality, we have awaited the closure of today's poll for the town council by-election before we felt able to comment upon the candidates and their promises. But first we must actually record how gratifying it was to have an election. Usually, these things are decided by co-option.
We were grateful to (only) three of the six candidates for leafleting us.
Through the door, we received two leaflets for three candidates, via the Clwyd Connections drop. One was for independent Christine Ellis and the second jointly for the two Plaid Cymru candidates Rachel Lewington and Ethan Jones. To be honest, none of them actually said anything in particular. They were very general. Nothing about active travel one way or the other (excuse the pun). Nothing about the velodrome. Nothing about Yr Hen Lys. Nor yet on lobbying for free parking.
Even so, fair play to those who made an effort to bring themselves to our attention. As for the other three candidates, well, they were anonymous to me as a candidate for a by-election in Albania. I am not sure how we are supposed to vote for someone about whom we have little or no idea.
Ethan Jones
'Excited' 30 year old Ethan Jones says that he 'work[s] as a procurement professional in the Welsh public sector'. He seems a little shy. 'Procurement professional' means a procurement systems officer & data analyst and far from the organisation having some sort of lofty oversight, it turns out to be Denbighshire county council. I wonder why he doesn't say as much. Is he ashamed of the council? Or perhaps an association with the county council might spoil his chances. Either way, is this slightly disingenuous? On the plus side, though, if elected, he will bring the average age of the council down dramatically.
Jones devotes 16 of his 168 words to 'aim to support and promote these [sports] assets to the community in any way I can'. He 'believe[s] strongly in what I aim to deliver for the people of Ruthin'. In order to 'deliver', we do need realistic promises but there are few. Yet, he's obviously going for the parent vote, as his main platform seems to be to support and promote sports clubs that are 'essential to our children and young people's physical and mental health'. He's been involved in Ruthin junior football for some years and well known as such. Such a connection with sport never did Huw Hildtich-Roberts any harm and Hilditch-Roberts's association with the rugby club had an impact in his election as a county councillor.
There are 17 words in support of local shop owners. 'I will do what I can to assist in helping our community recover form current challenging times'. He doesn't say what. How much of that is really in the gift of the town council, though? It's actually in everyone's interest to support local shops.
Rachel Lewington
The other Plaid Cymru candidate is Rachel Lewington. Her introduction gives a little more detail and a little less generality. She also plays the young person's card. Her shop Tŷ Celf 'often runs initiatives to help children, young people and adults through the arts'. So does the Craft Centre, too, but that doesn't receive a mention, obviously. 'I have a vision to make Ruthin the best in Wales for children and young people to grow up' could well be a vote winner, even though we have to accept that this is outwith the gift of a single town councillor, the wider town council and even the county council struggles with this aspect.
'As a business person working at a global level in high tech industry, I want to share my experience in business planning, growing a strong local economy and supporting high value local jobs'. So, is this global or local? Either way, again, it's quite an aspiration for a single councillor at the bottom rung of the local government system.
Neither she nor Jones mentions the usual sphere of town council responsibilities: hanging baskets, benches and tidy parks.
But, fair play to Plaid for fielding two candidates. Have other parties managed that? We only have one Labour candidate, for example.
Christine Ellis
She'll score points for being an 'NHS worker at our local community hospital', even though she doesn't say specifically what she actually does there. In that sense, she's a bit like Ethan Jones. Am I right in remembering her as a receptionist at the leisure centre? With Ellis, there's still an element of optimistic over-ambition, that she can actually make a difference. Remember, the current town council has but one year left to run. In terms of that (virtual?) table, Ellis will struggle to get her feet under it let alone enact her vision to 'bring your voice back to the table'.
Our predictions? the Plaid Cymru candidates will win. There's strong support for the party and by labelling two candidates as representatives it's probable that Plaid will galvanise support. Christine Ellis will come a close third, given Ellis has the support of Conservative-cum-Independent Anne Roberts. For the three candidates who bothered, we'd also say that leafleting will have paid off. Turnout? We'd say about 27 per cent.