MBRC Update Update
Graham Young over at Qld Decides has put up an interesting breakdown of the issues confronting the new Moreton Bay Regional Council and its effect on voting intentions.
Whilst I disagree on his interpretation of the results, it does paint an interesting picture of the voting intentions of the region.
With less than a week to go, the trash has started to be dumped on the area. Mayoral Candidate Allan Sutherland has tipped a bucketful on all of the other aspriants with his distributed “Moreton Messenger” letterbox drop. It cleverly advertised itself as a community interest newspaper, whilst tipping bucketfuls of bile on the heads of the other Mayoral Candidates. Caboolture Mayor Joy Leishmann came in for special mention with a few bags of vitriol directed her way.
While this was particularly harsh, the bagging he gave his fellow Redcliffe City Council member Peter Hueston, made Sutherland’s attack on Leishmann look like a mild disagreement.
Basically he called the man incompetent, lazy, a liar, a thief of other people’s achievements and he only stopped slightly short of accusing him of being a Cad and a Bounder.
All good meaty stuff. The electorate should eat it up by the barrel-load. As much as every opinion poll states otherwise, the reality is that the electorate-at-large loves a good barney between candidates.
Obviously you can’t pick on the intellectually disadvantaged like the Greens and get away with it, but a general to and fro’ between real candidates brings a smile to the most jaded of punters.
We love to see the ‘rabbit in the headlights’ look on a candidate we don’t think we like. Likewise, we want to see our preferred candidate can mix it with the best of them.
Regardless of focus groups, interviews with the prominent and the decry of standards in the intellectual debate, the fact remains that the electorate will not support a wilting flower. They want to know that the person they elect will be strong enough to stand up for their concerns and be able to fight for them.
Strength comes in many forms, all equally valid. You see women often taking a Motherly tone because everybody loves their mother and tends to listen to them, even when they don’t want to. This worked very well for Yvonne Chapman in Pine Shire for many years.
Men tend to take a more traditional agressive stance. This also comes in a number of forms, from a Fatherly ‘do what I say’ perspective, to a ‘learned bloke in the pub’ routine. No matter the way, we still want to see the backbone and strength behind them.
The Mayoral campaign is coming down to a two horse race between Sutherland and Leishmann. Only time will tell if Sutherland’s blokey but knowledgeable man in the pub routine, will overcome Leishmann’s Mumsey.