I have been following the lead-up to the local elections with growing interest but I do get a bit disappointed about criticisms of councillors and mayors.

It seems to me that some critics cannot help but get personal when it comes to comments about elected officials, and on some occasions I could be accused of that as well, but as I have got older, and hopefully wiser, I have tried to keep my comments to a performance basis.

For instance, every time something hits the paper involving an elected official there are always accusations of personal interest, etc, and oftentimes their honesty is questioned.

I sometimes think honesty and intelligence, or lack of, get mixed up.

Call me naïve but in my time on the Coast I could count on one hand whom I suspected of doing the wrong thing out of self interest, and out of those few there were probably a couple wrongly accused.

So I guess I have been interested in local politics for about 30 years and I can only think of a couple that in my view may have been corrupt.

On the other hand, stupid is a whole other topic, but, hey, we voted for them in the first place.

But most local public officials I can think of have done the best job they could for their area. Sure there have been some mistakes, but who of us go through life error free?

Now, my point is if you read letters to the editor, news stories and blogs online there are plenty of people willing to point the finger on a daily basis at councillors, accusing them of any number of wrong doings.

Now that the money is up there for a councillor there will be plenty more putting their hand up for the job.

But really, to earn it you have to live life in a very transparent fish bowl.

So my point is that 99% of people in local council are in it for the right reasons, because if people think they are there to feather their own nest, well, there would be plenty of other ways to do it without having the Sunshine Coast peering over their shoulders.

I say this because I have been a little taken aback by criticisms of our local crop.

For instance, outgoing mayor Don Aldous has spent a good period of his life serving the local community and should be congratulated on what he and his council have achieved.

I was saddened to hear and see some derogatory remarks about his performance, as in my opinion Caloundra is a better place for his terms as mayor.

I do wonder how he and his councillors and their counterparts around the Coast handle the constant criticisms from what I would hope is a minority.

It is my view that at least local councillors are contactable and accessible for most of their term, unlike our old friend Peter Slipper, who hasn’t even got hours of business on his office front door.

I could imagine what response I would get from him if I rang about a pothole in front of my house or a dead street light.

I reckon anyone that puts their hand up for the upcoming election should think long and hard about the job description.

“Come and join our exciting new team at Amalgamation Pty Ltd. You will answer directly to 250,000 people, some you will be able to make happy, but at the same time others won’t be happy, and you will never ever make all of them happy all of the time.

“Remuneration will be in line with your federal colleagues but, unlike them, you will have to make yourself available to your constituents 24/7.

Holiday destination, time away, friends and acquaintances will be scrutinised at the whim of others, you will be accused of taking gifts, and being in the pockets of developers without any evidence, and at all times be prepared for whatever mud is thrown at you to stick without explanation or credibility.

The term is for four years but be prepared to defend it without rhyme or reason.”

If that job sounds attractive to the applicant, in my mind it means one thing, they are there for the right reasons. Good Luck.