Do they have the right skills to run our city?

One thing I can’t believe we never see is a copy of potential councillor’s CV.

I’m a hairdresser and the first thing we look at before we employ someone is their CV. This gives us an insight into their training, employment history, skills and experience, so we can then choose whether to employ them. Surely we need to know that the people we’re electing to represent and run the city have the necessary skills to do so, too?

What is the alternative? We vote blindly based on the party they represent or our perception of them in the media. I wouldn’t employ someone to cut our customers’ hair based on the people they’re associated with or whether they declare themselves the best candidate in the media.

I’m guessing that running a city is more complex than cutting someone’s hair (though I know the high skill levels needed to be a good hairdresser).

Surely we need to know that our future councillors have an understanding of how public services are provided, are able to make decisions based on conflicting opinions and viewpoints and have the ability to relate well to people from different backgrounds?

Don’t we also need to know that they’ll stand up to their political colleagues if they were doing something detrimental to their ward?

I hope any potential councillor reading this will publish their CV in the public domain, and enable voters to make an assessment on the most credible.

In the past year we’ve seen the collapse of the Sheffield City Region devolution deal, a £2.2 billion contract continue to fail to improve a significant amount of our roads (while chopping down a lot of street trees) , council tax rises, issues with social care spending and ongoing uncertainty about Brexit.

Considering all of these important issues, surely the time has come for us (the people of Sheffield) to know the skills and experience of the individuals we’re electing.

We’re less than two months from the next local election, plenty of time for candidates to update and publish their CVs in the press , in paper and on social media.

Surely in the interest of democracy and ensuring the best future for our city, it’s time for them to publish their CVs and demonstrate that they have the skills to run our city well.

What’s the alternative, self publicists and people linked by association to a political party running our city without the necessary skills?

Not anymore, thank you.

Anne Fletcher

by email