That may be because local government politics has been a dead zone in Dubbo and Wellington since the 2016 forced merger of councils and the sacking of their councillors.

There has been little, if any, debate on civic issues since. There has not been the traditional, sometimes heated, discussion on plans, ideas, problems and solutions.

The field of would-be councillors totals 28 for the 10 council seats (eight for Dubbo and two for Wellington). That is less than half the 69 candidates in the two areas in 2012.

It is important that the 2017 candidates, most running for their first time, quickly get to grips with voters’ needs and aspirations and declare their ideas, policies and solutions. The community needs strong, democratic leadership and to know what candidates want to achieve for residents.

Those goals need to be creative, sensible and attainable. They should not be wish list, “make me look good” or headline-grabbing posturing. Residents deserve solid, considered local government.

There has been little argy-bargy since ballots were drawn a week ago … except for a justifiable call for transparency on candidates’ political affiliations. Twelve candidates are members of a political party and voters would probably prefer councillors declare they were acting for residents and not for party machines.

Many candidates for the four Dubbo wards are running in groups or “tickets”.

There are two groups each in the East, North and Central wards and one in South. Former Dubbo deputy mayor Ben Shields has a group in each. Other tickets, including Country Labor, do not appear to have cross-ward links. 

Some community members have raised questions about the Shields groups after he stated in July “there is no Ben Shields Party” and said he wasn’t forming his own ticket but was advising a handful of candidates.

Members of groups have claimed the Labor ticket entry was the catalyst for grouping. Nothing like saying someone else started it.

The ward system would make it difficult for two members of the same group to get over the line. Groups obviously hope teamwork will continue on council, perhaps as a voting bloc.

Tickets or singles, all candidates need to quickly tell residents what they stand for.