THE decision of Christchurch councillors to defy the leader and chief executive on reorganisation at last shows a chink of light.

Since 2011 when I first became concerned about saving Druitt Hall, and then Druitt Gardens, I and a handful of other long-suffering members of the public have attended countless council and committee meetings.

I have repeatedly seen decent honest hard-working councillors suppressed and sold down the river by certain key senior figures who bring the council into disrepute.

I have seen the stealthy machinery that moves with well-oiled efficiency behind the curtains, to block and outwit ordinary residents who have a legitimate cause or campaign, and it has made me heart-sick about the futility of local democracy in places where a super majority gives rise to unfettered dictatorship.

Believe, me, it is only in response to the massive silencing that I have witnessed that I have become so angrily vocal.

Campaigns suck the life out of residents, especially older ones who become completely disillusioned. That just makes it easier for the machinery to be rolled on over the powerless. Yes, we DO need CHANGE.

We need proportional representation, and we need to break the super majority strangle-hold which fosters contempt for ordinary residents and their welfare.

ELLIOT MARX

Auckland Road, Christchurch

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