The Southland Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. Luceo Non Uro. FRIDAY, APRIL 19, 1929. THE MUNICIPAL ELECTION

Southland Times, Issue 20663, 19 April 1929, Page 6

The Southland Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. Luceo Non Uro. FRIDAY, APRIL 19, 1929. THE MUNICIPAL ELECTION

Yesterday's nominations provide the electors of Invercargill with the choice of two candidates for the Mayoralty, and of sixteen for the twelve seats on the council. Nine of the candidates are members of (he expiring council, and the remaining seven are men very well-known in the community. Out of the candidates nominated it will be possible to choose a very strong council, and the list of contestants will serve to remind the electors that interest in municipal affairs has quickened. This keener interest should be reflected in the strength of the voting. One thing for which the public should be pleased is the complete absence of any suggestion of a “ticket,” which means that the elections will take place without the intervention of any party warfare, and there is no reason why, so far as the councillors are concerned at any rate, there should be any sharp divisions, since there are no major issues to split them into groups. All the candidates are conversant with public body business, and recognize the paramount, importance of frank discussions on questions of policy and the development of an administration that is thoroughly co-ordinated, thoroughly happy in enjoying the confidence of the council and free from any unnecessary irritants. With a strong council in being it will be possible (o end the suspicion that extra-mural councillors, having no legal status, have exerted more influence than they should and that their methods have helped to bring about the dissatisfaction in the corporation staff that is too apparent (o be ignored. Under a system which concentrates a great part of the work and discussion on the committee, the public is unaware of the extent to which public officers are harassed. It is the duty of the Mayor to sec that the administrative machinery runs smoothly and he can achieve that by being as helpful to his officers as a good managing director in a private firm. The principles of ordinary business administration which give liberty to departmental heads and assure them of complete immunity from trafficking in subordinate’s complaints and ambitions, should guide him in the proper discharge of his duties and keeps about him a staff that regards him with confidence. In every administration there will be occasional troubles, but where conflicts and dissatisfaction are general, where they affect old and new officers alike, it is necessary to look to the governor of the system and see if his methods are correct. That, it seems to us, is the plain duty of the electors. They will obtain the Mayor and councillors they deserve, and in voting their one interest should be to select those candidates who will bring dignity and an impersonal interest, associated with a judicial attitude, into the control of the borough’s affairs.