ALTHOUGH a General Election galvanises readers into action, a local election can be just as demanding. Existing and potential politicians make promises, produce denials and attack opponents. Once an election is over some successful candidates continue to use the paper to keep readers informed of policies and local arguments, while others fade into obscurity. On a national level our local MPs were unusually quiet, although MEP Geoffrey Bloom appeared in print on 11 occasions. As the year progressed, City of York Council leader James Alexander came in for special comment as it was alleged he managed to get letters printed almost on a daily basis. Not quite so, although post-election he was exposed on 27 occasions, with 12 published before he was elected leader of the council. This meant that Coun Tracey Simpson-Laing was pushed into second place with 33.