HAVING been a councillor of the Clarence Valley Council for a period of just over 12 months and reading the letter to the editor from Cr. Andrew Baker (May 31), I would like to make the following comments.

Prior to becoming a councillor, my knowledge of our Deputy Mayor was very limited, albeit I have known his mother for many years and greatly respected her.

Over the past 12 months I have come to respect Craig Howe as a man who always acts in the interest of the community as a whole and not sectional interests.

Analysis of how we both vote on issues would reflect that we agree on many issues and disagree on almost as many. I would categorically state "I am led by no one".

In relation to Mayor Richie Williamson, he has been a close family friend for many years, continues to be so, and will be into the future. To infer that he leads me in the manner in which I vote is ridiculous.

Over the past year, he has never (and never would) ask me to vote for or against any issue before council and on many occasions we have had vastly different views on the issues before council. At the end of the debate however, no animosity remains. Should anyone doubt this statement please check public record. I can state that unfortunately over the past 12 months there is a level of negativity within council that I have never witnessed before in my public life. Having worked for and with numerous committees, organisations and community groups over a period of 40 years, I feel I have some experience in the field.

Further, I would point out that the level of compliance applicable to elected councillors and council officers is far in excess that ever envisaged and it is a very difficult road that they have to walk down. Some of our elected representatives seem to have an agenda to make our senior staff's roles as difficult as possible.

I struggle with that as all senior staff have studied at university and worked for years to reach the levels they have achieved, whilst others with no qualifications and or appropriate knowledge go out of their way to make their working life as difficult as possible.

There are a number of individuals outside of council that criticise and object to every action taken by council.

I note that not one of those people put their hand up when the by-election was called, yet they had plenty to say both before and after my election. I would remind those that there will be another election in September. I wonder how many of these people will put themselves forward for election.

In conclusion, I would like to offer my personal thanks and appreciation to Cr. Craig Howe and wish him and Marie and their family all the best for the future.

Cr. A.F. Lysaught