The 'RAF Flyer' Versus 'The Quaker Lady'

A week in the life of a local councillor in Chiswick

Cllr Sam Hearn who represents the Riverside ward in Chiswick, is chairman of the Chiswick Area Forum. He has written this account of his week as a busy local councillor

Saturday 7th March: Running with and researching a couple of issues arising from the Saturday morning Councillors’ Surgery. Since I have been unable to get into the Civic Centre I have had to print off the Area Forum papers from the Council website.

Sunday 8th March: A site visit to understand a resident’s complaint about the proposed erection of an electric vehicle charging point on the pavement outside his house. He has off street parking and does not use an electric or a hybrid vehicle. This looks like “a can of worms”.

Monday 9th March: To the Tabard Theatre for a debate organised by Chiswick Calendar between MP Mary Macleod and her main opponent Ruth Cadbury. Deploying her considerable skills Radio 4 presenter Sarah Montague flushed out the candidates’ motivations and deeper thoughts. The questions from the public were intelligent and were, by and large, addressed by the speakers. The RAF Flyer versus the Quaker Lady, an interesting choice for the electors.

Tuesday 10th March: Sadly a poorly attended meeting. No doubt the ChiswickW4 forum will be inundated with complaints from irate key-board warriors when some of the matters discussed go to consultation. There was guarded approval for the proposal to consult on the implementation of a Borough-wide 20 mph speed limit in residential streets. The question of exactly how such a scheme would be enforced hung in the air like a bad smell. The concerned resident was able to raise the issue of the electric charging point during the public forum. It was impressive to find that officers had prepared a briefing paper for the meeting. This one will run and run.

Wednesday 11th March: Canvassing close to home. Residents are well informed and happy to fill me in on matters of concern to them. This was probably one of our more successful evenings.

Thursday 12th March: A half day at Strand on the Green School for back to back Governors’ meetings. My first school meal for 43 years. I was impressed to meet a pupil who now speaks English like a native but two years ago spoke only Spanish. Another polite and confident pupil was happy to take control of an impromptu conversation and ask what a school governor did, and seemed to understand my garbled explanation.

Friday 13th March: A quick trip into the Civic Centre to check my in tray. Two meetings next week at the Civic Centre to prepare for. Making plans for the last leaflet delivery before the Election Campaign formally begins.

March 13, 2015