It is, of course, the curious phenomenon of Islanders voting for candidates who don’t live in the district they stand in.

Yes, all nine were democratically elected by voters who knew where they lived, and yes, some of them beat other candidates to their seats – possibly even candidates from the district. And that’s fine. It just baffles me, that’s all.

Because no one gets up in the morning, stretches, looks out the window across the Royal Bay of Grouville to Mont Orgueil and says to himself: ‘I must do something about the parking in Brighton Road this morning’.

Similarly, no one’s ever been driven into a rage by the coast road speed limits in St Clement while having a pint at the Farmers Inn.

That said, let’s get something clear: you can be an effective Deputy without living in your district. It’s been years since Bob Hill lived in St Martin (his house is just over the Trinity border), but the voters there have brought him back in four elections. No one, whatever their political persuasion, could claim that Deputies Pat Ryan and Judy Martin don’t pull their weight. But neither of them live in St Helier No 1 – he’s in St John and she’s in St Saviour.

The disappointing thing is that it generally seems to be St Helier that misses out. None, not one, not a single one of the six Deputies that represent the No 1 and No 2 districts live there, and they’ve got to lose some connection with the area because of it – although, to be fair, Deputies Geoff Southern and Paul Le Claire do actually live in the parish.

But the idea of getting in your car on hustings night, driving halfway across the Island and telling the audience that you’re committed to improving life in their district, then driving halfway across the Island back home, is just a bit implausible.

Or to put it another way, try that in St Ouen or Trinity and see how many votes you get. I’m guessing it won’t be many.

It being election season, and for the sake of fairness, here’s a full list of the Deputies who don’t currently live in their districts: St Saviour No 2 Deputy Alan Breckon (lives in St Lawrence, but just elected Senator), St Martin Deputy Bob Hill (lives in Trinity), St Saviour No 3 Deputy Roy Le Hérissier (lives in St Peter), St Helier No 1 Deputy Judy Martin (lives in St Saviour), St Helier No 2 Deputy Geoff Southern (lives in St Helier No 3), St Helier No 1 Deputy Pat Ryan (lives in St John, standing in St John this year), St Helier No 1 Deputy Paul Le Claire (lives in St Helier No 2), St Helier No 2 Deputy Shona Pitman (lives in St John), and St Helier No 2 Deputy Alan Maclean (lives in Grouville, but just elected Senator).

FOR the second time, Chief Minister Frank Walker has denied that he’s lining himself up for the Waterfront Enterprise Board chairmanship once he leaves the States. It’s a well-trodden path from States retirement to WEB chairman that politicians like Don Filleul, Pierre Horsfall and Gerald Voisin have trod before him.

Although he stopped short of the game-ending phrase ‘I’m not going to be the chairman of WEB’, the Senator said he wasn’t thinking about it, hadn’t discussed it, and hadn’t been approached, and didn’t know where the rumours were coming from. Fair enough, but here’s an idea: nominate someone for the job, then.

The chairmanship has been vacant since July, when Members sacked former Deputy Gerald Voisin over the Harcourt/Las Vegas lawsuit debacle. If you want the rumours to stop, fill the gap.

I HAVE a confession to make. It’s a bad thing to admit, especially at this time of year, but what the heck.
I like election candidates a lot more than I like politicians.

It’s a general rule, of course. There are some politicians that I like more than some candidates – but generally, in the main, and on the whole your average candidate is more fun to be around than your average politician.

Here’s why:
• No misplaced sense of entitlement, status and importance.
• No deeply held conviction that straight questions need not be met with straight answers.
• No election-time ‘telephone box’-act where an ‘election persona’ is pulled on every three/six years like a superhero pulls on a cape and mask.

Allow me to explain the last one. During the election, there was a candidate – we’ll call him John – who was gushing with praise for our election coverage, particularly the bits done by Fly, and who was the very embodiment of charm and grace.

Ten days after the election, a story appeared in the paper that John didn’t like. ‘I’m not happy with you,’ said John. The story, he said, was ‘meaningless’. The journalism, he said, was ‘shoddy’. And his department was ‘different’ anyway.

Long story short: I’m still, technically at least, awaiting a comment from John – whose campaign included the promise that ‘I understand the States needs to listen and respond more’.