My application for co-option position to Penzance Town Council councillor for Penzance Central ward

I recently saw on Facebook that Penzance Town Council were looking to fill the position of Town Councillor for the Penzance East ward. It being too close to warrant an election, they are looking for suitable people to fill the void until the elections proper in May. Here is my application. Don't laugh.

Dear Simon,

It was nice to meet you in Waves on Tuesday, and after having read all the literature I was handed, I should like to formally put my name forward to be considered for the co-option position of town councillor for Penzance Central.

In support of my application, as was suggested, I offer a brief introduction.

Due to the religious and social mores of the time, I was born in Devon, but came to Cornwall as soon as my grandparents could tolerate my illegitimacy. Despite this early handicap, I consider myself every inch a Cornishman with a history of otherwise unbroken west Cornwall ancestry that stretches back to the 15th century.

My father's work took the family around the UK for the rest of my childhood, affording me the experience of schooling in Scotland and the home counties. I left school with mediocre O'level and CSE results and proceeded to work, ostensibly, in warehousing and distribution until an opportunity to move to Sweden came about that was impossible to turn down.

Whilst in Sweden, my career moved to construction and the installation of marble internal floors and stairs. Towards the end of my 7 year stay I also worked as a project manager for a train manufacturer. During my stay, I was awestruck at the efficiency and apparent ease in which the government and its instruments carried out its work, and upon my return to the UK in 2008 I started to look at how I could contribute to emulating the Scandinavian model here in Cornwall.

This activity initially moved me to blogging and Internet activism - something I still continue to do - but in the light of the current position at Penzance Town Council, I feel now is the time to 'step up to the plate' and get on with the business as it happens on the front-line.

I am presently on ESA for an anxiety issue generally brought about by the very inadequacies I deal with each day in relating to the business of British society as a whole, so I regard this application as a form of therapy and pro-active stance to right the perceived 'wrongs' that the general public appear to hold for reasons to distrust politics. I want to bring the public back into local politics.

Sometimes described as somewhat wordy, I have a tendency to encapsulate complex ideas in concise sentences; something I feel a time-pressed town council should appreciate. My political compass points me towards a liberal/libertarian position that transcends party politicking, preferring to concentrate on resolving problems common to us all rather than creating a wall of partisan bureaucracy  the ends are the means.

I suppose if I were to put forward my primary objective for my application, it would simply be to represent the interests of as many of the ward as is possible, emphasising community, growth and sustainability.

There is only so much I can put here for you to get a thorough understanding of who I am and what it is I want to achieve  so I would very much welcome the opportunity to speak with both yourself and the council and make my case in person. 

I know of no impediment to my application, so I hope that we shall meet again in the very near future to discuss whatever steps are to be taken next.

Thank you for your consideration, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Kind regards,

Mr Tris Stock