 Councillor David J Walsh |
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Councillor Walsh is a Walton Society Member and Walton Central Ward Councillor. I have lived in Walton since 1967 during which time it has also been a welcoming home base for my extensive overseas activities as a chartered electrical engineer. My sons have been raised and educated in Walton and now my grandsons are also attending local schools. Following retirement I have had the privilege of serving on the Council for some six years, first as a Walton Society Councillor representing Walton Ambleside Ward and now as the representative for Walton Central. During the intervening years I am proud to have served as a Board member on several voluntary and charitable Trusts (see below) and currently serve as Consultant to the R C Sherriff Trust. My further responsibilities include running my own company as a prestigious supplier of environmentally friendly products to the electrical manufacturing industry for worldwide application. Many constituents have queried my rationale in seeking election to the Council. Aside from the inherent desire to foster and subscribe to community wellbeing, three primary reasons come to mind:- First and foremost, it has been a major incentive to join an organisation that boasts the status of 'excellence' as prescribed by the Audit Commission, and to share the enthusiasm that Elmbridge should continue not only to remain at the forefront of local government excellence, but to seek even higher accolades in the realm of performance assessment. Throughout my career as a professional engineer, I have enjoyed the privilege of working within Centres of Excellence and the related motivation that this has provided to inspire a strong work ethic, being an important ingredient to the achievement of superior performance. In the context of local government I believe that it is equally important that such standards are not compromised by any factors that may adversely affect the nature and quality of service delivery as measured by the fair and equitable allocation of resources. This has particular significance within a Borough that enjoys the reputation of one of the highest levels of quality of life in Britain. This distinction regretfully masks some very significant and disturbing inequalities in terms of income, wealth, health (life expectancy) and social division. I shall remain deeply conscious of the need to address this dichotomy in a sensitive and progressive manner in the interests of fostering and strengthening community cohesion, the lack of which inevitably impacts upon anti-social behaviour in a negative manner. Secondly, my decision to seek re-election in May 2006 was prompted by my conviction that electoral representation within the Council requires to reflect a balanced perspective between the purely party political agenda on the one hand, and on the other by those who believe that local issues are best served and protected by advocates of an independently minded process, divorced from the dictates and rhetoric of national political dogma of whatever origin. I fall into this latter category along with groups of like minded residents and responsible citizens. Last but not least, the enterprise and pioneering endeavours that have been a feature of my family background and subsequent career provide the incentive to face the challenges presented by the greatest ever leap forward in the local economy of Walton Central Ward. The related threats and opportunities associated with this ongoing major residential and commercial re-development of the Town merit vigilance of the highest order. The facets of this awesome responsibility to the public will continue to remain as an ever present and healthy challenge to the collective will and ingenuity of my fellow Ward Councillors and myself. A scan of the details I have provided hereunder, relating to my personal profile, career, and subsequent public service will hopefully establish the nature of the experience and credentials that I believe I can continue to offer towards providing a constructive contribution to the challenges of local government, and more particularly to the strengthening of community cohesion. David J Walsh D.L.C. Hons (Eng) , C Eng. M.I.E.E 1998 - 2002 2002 - 2003 2000 - 2004 2004 - Present 1997 - Present 2006 - Present David Walsh - Personal Profile I hail from a family deeply rooted in pioneering endeavour. The many and various strands of my family of Irish and Scottish descent carved a proud record of dedicated public service and entrepreneurial activity in India dating back to 1836 as my family archive reveals. I developed a strong political awareness and community conscience early in life. Born the son of a proprietary tea planter, I spent the first 15 years of my life alternating between life on a remote tea plantation and a missionary boarding school. During these formative years, I became deeply conscious of the enduring efforts of my parents to improve the welfare of many hundreds of plantation workers, particularly in the areas of health and education. These efforts to enhance the quality of life of the workforce were in marked contrast to the exploitive measures imposed by many of the contemporary employers of that era representing big business. That shining example had a profound influence in shaping my social conscience throughout life. Superimposed on this experience I lived through the political dynamics of all the volatility of the freedom movement in India. Independence was finally achieved in 1947, and the part played by the advocates of non-violence, led by Mahatma Gandhi, will remain an abiding memory of those days of drama and high tension. These his |
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