hustings1 Thanks for turning out – preferring our first hustings to the Royal Variety show. We will do our best to provide an entertaining evening with our double act. Actually Robert and I have a good working relationship and see eye to eye on most things, don't we Robert.

But as a rate payer, and a small businessman, I am less than happy. Because the present administration at the Town Hall has not addressed the rates issue, indeed, rates assemblies have gone from bad to worse during the last three years.

People are fed up with asking for the States to pay rates on town properties, they are fed up with their friends in St John (St Brelade) paying a lot less than they do in rates, they are fed up with asking for the welfare burden, the payment for street lighting, or town toilet cleaning, to be shared fairly. But nothing has changed.

The present administration has not addressed the duplication issue either. I've been pushing it from my side eg purchase and maintenance of expensive street cleaning machinery, the pooling of car parking functions to save on admin costs and produce a better service to the public, but the message from the TH so far has been, we're all right Jack.

And let me say straight away, with the growing number of landscaped areas to look after we are not talking about job losses, there is plenty of work to be done in our Parish. But in an island of 9 miles by 5 does it make sense to have 2 parks and gardens departments? I don't know the answer to that question, but if elected I will make it my business to investigate this properly. And to start off by listening to the views of the staff. How would Parish gardeners feel about a closer working relationship with States gardeners? Could they work from the same site, releasing one of the sites for housing? Could they use the same machinery, saving the ratepayer those costs? This must be looked into.

Joined up government is essential in today's difficult economic and political climate. I don't believe the ratepayers of St Helier want duplication to continue, I don't believe the ratepayers of St Helier want the administration to continue to build an empire behind its Chinese walls.

What about your presidency of public services, I hear you asking. How can you bear to lose it? Well, it would be a sacrifice, honestly it would, but if elected constable it is my intention to stand down as president of the Public Services Committee – although I would expect to continue serving on the committee to see through the various projects which are approaching fruition, not least the residents' parking trial and the selection of the island's bus operator, and especially the development of the Island's solid waste strategy which has so much relevance to this part of St Helier.

Most of all I would want to have a seat on that committee to pursue the objective of joined up government in cooperation with Public Services Committee.

If you want business as usual at the Town Hall, don't vote for me. I can't deliver that. It's time for change – change from lack of information to clear information, especially about the Parish finances; change from rates assemblies doubling up as boxing matches to well organised and properly managed assemblies.

There are real choices to be made in this election:
one candidate offers you change, the other business as usual;
one candidate supports the Clothier reforms of our government; the other votes against them;
one candidate leaves town at the end of the working day; the other is raising a young family here, 24 hours a day.

It's a real election, we're not like St Clement. So please look at the issues, and get your friends out to vote.