I was reading your story in last week’s Guardian (Former police officer promises new approach, October 9) about Cllr Kim Adams who has been elected in the Epping Hemnall ward for the Lib Dems.

First of all I would like to applaud him for getting involved in his local community. After 35 years apparently working for the police in Hong Kong he could be forgiven for putting his feet up and enjoying a long retirement, surrounded by the natural beauty of Epping Forest.

So full marks to him for wanting to do his bit to try and change things for the better and address the concerns of residents.

The desire to help others and the community rather than just oneself is all too rare these days.

However, my enthusiasm ends and my disappointment begins when I learn that he stood for election under the Liberal Democrat banner, although my point is the same whatever the political party.

I constantly question why, especially at a local level, councillors cannot be independent of political parties and simply stand for election in their own right as good and honest local people, passionate about the area they live in.

What has political party membership got to do with it? Unfortunately, many voters end up voting for a candidate based on which party they stand for, regardless of whether they are any good or not or truly care about their community. There are a lot of younger councillors coming on board now who at best can be described as career opportunists, seeing it as a necessary first step towards greater things.

When I look at the full list of district councillors supposedly representing us I am amazed that most of the names mean nothing to me. Most are never mentioned in the Guardian or anywhere else for that matter. So they can’t be doing all that much for us.

Well done Cllr Adams, you would have my vote – except for the fact that you are a Liberal Democrat!

Paul Stockton Bower Hill, Epping