George Cuff

I have previously offered some thoughts as to what responsibilities and obligations accompany the role of the mayor. Hopefully, some of those musings resonated with those holding this important position (or at least those who actually read the materials!) and will be of some benefit to their councils and communities. Unfortunately, there are other instances where the role of mayor has become diluted by a misapprehension of the role.

Achieving role clarity by elected officials is often a struggle. This is due in part to the misconceptions of those accepting political office, and in part to the lack of concrete direction and/or advice pertaining to how such roles are expected to be performed.

This month’s column, then, is not focussed so much on what a mayor is expected to do, but rather a description of the pitfalls that many council leaders so readily experience. The following list is not intended to be exclusive nor all encompassing – experience teaches that new pitfalls are being added regularly!
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