By Jessica Micallef
The Macedon Ranges Residents Association is doing its bit to guide residents ahead of next month’s council election.
The association will be conducting “candidate assessments” of those who have nominated to represent the Macedon Ranges community as a councillor.
Association secretary Christine Pruneau said residents often don’t know who the candidates are.
“You can find information about them but there is also a tendency for candidates to say the same thing,” she said.
“We are trying to go beneath that and have a look at all the candidates.”
The association will send out a questionnaire to candidates before publishing on their website who they would or would not vote for in the election.
“This is our opinion,” Ms Pruneau said.
“All we can do is provide some guidance and not everyone is going to agree.”
Ms Pruneau said the ideal councillor needed to have an understanding of the environment and the people that reside in the Macedon Ranges.
“You have to have somebody who has some understanding of why the people value the area so much,” she said.
“We’ve also had a council before that shut the community out and this council has done a better job at making the community feel as if it is a player in the local democracy.
“One of the things people around here value is feeling that they are represented and the task of the council is to represent quite a variety of people.”
The association plans to publish their assessments on the website before ballot papers are sent out to residents between October 6 and 8.
“We always tell people to go out and inform yourselves as well,” Ms Pruneau said.
“Voting is not a right by so much is a privilege. Don’t waste it.”
