Investigate what’s required

First things first, you want to verify the requirements. You take your cups of tea and open the council’s website on your laptop.

It’s confusing. Probably deliberately so. On the page talking about running for council it mentions there are requirements without specifying the details. Faye, though, has already navigated through this maze. She shows you the route. In an obscure semi-hidden backpage you finally find what you’re looking for.

Requirements to run for the town council.

1: Primary source of residence must be in town

- Doesn’t matter whether you own or rent, but the prospective candidate must prove they primarily live there. Faye owns her house, as proven by mortgage and deeds, and all her bills prove she lives there.

2: The primary backing of a town member.

- The definition of town member is not on the same page, it’s obscured by being on another page, several clicks apart. Again, Faye guides you. Yes, the definition of town member is as she told you, someone who was born and raised in the town to the age of 18 (you were), or someone born and raised outside town, but whose parents, grandparents and great grandparents were born and raised in the town. Feels restrictive, and probably illegal, to you, but what do you know.

3: A petition of 500 names supporting the candidate

- All 500 names have to belong to eligible voters. That is anyone over the age of 18 who lives in the town. Addresses must be supplied.

4: A deposit

- The value sounds high to you, and Faye winces as you mention it. “I’ll find it,” she states, although she doesn’t appear too convinced by that.

5: Application forms submitted

- There are no application forms online. The forms reside in the Town Hall and must be filled in there, by the applicant, and if a different person, the sponsor, in person, and at the same time.

It sounds overly complicated. You’re struggling to understand it, but Faye has worked it through and guides you with ease. You’re still getting a headache. Legal documents always make your mind hurt. It’s a wonder modern historians can handle it all. Reading this makes you happy you’d specialised in the Celts. There’s none of this nonsense to wade through with the Celts, they left no written documentation.

Having read everything multiple times, Faye turns to you. “So, will you support me? Will you come with me to the Town Hall next week to sign these forms?”

What can you say to that?