Ed, I get very despondent when community concerns are written off by members of Council, particularly the Mayor, as ‘grandstanding’. Surely we’ve the right to question, to express our dissatisfaction and our fear about the way our community assets and our rates are being mismanaged. How can a politician completely disregard the people they represent? For some reason at State and Federal levels of government the criticism is reserved for the opposition, they don’t attack their constituents, yet local government in the Clarence Valley treat their constituents as the opposition. So many people I talk to are too frightened to speak out or to stand up to our Council for fear of retribution … sadly this ‘retribution’ seems to be tangible. Are we constituents or serfs? Do we live in a democracy or a Serfdom? Do we own our homes and properties or are we owned by the Clarence Valley Council and their enforcers? Is Richard a Mayor or Lord of the Clarence Valley Manor? It’s so disheartening to have our concerns flippantly dismissed by the very man who has been entrusted with the leadership of our community, the very man who should be leading by example, who should be inspiring us and who should be protecting and advocating for us. Perhaps Richard needs to be exposed to some leadership training, and should realise our community is a team and a team is only a strong as its weakest member/s. As leader Richard is responsible for ensuring even the weakest in our community are supported, nurtured and valued so that they may share in all that is good in our community. As it stands at the moment the CVC under the ‘leadership’ of Richard are actually starving out the weakest (disabled, elderly, unemployed) so that we are no longer able to remain part of our own community. We simply cannot afford these proposed rate increases, or the huge expense of the Super Depot construction or the huge wages bill for the executive. Don’t we matter to Richard? Ursula Tunks, South Grafton