how local is local

How local is local, and does it really matter?
I was mildly amused this last week to discover that being 'local' seems to be the only criteria for being an effective District Councillor.
This caused me to ponder long and hard on just what local means. It is a term we throw about with gay abandon.
Does living within 3 miles of an area one has been elected to represent count as local?
We often talk about local food, local people, local news, local weather; all meaning something different in their interpretation.
Is local always better? I would argue that in selecting the best person for the job, any job, that it is experience, skills and knowledge that count. Someone with the proven commitment and passion to deliver the goods, together with the time and energy to devote to gaining the vital local perspective. Surely it is to everyone's benefit to be able to cast the net wide, take an objective, rational view of a situation, without the need to curry favour and take sides; careful not to disturb the sensibilties of the key players and their own agendas, because they happen to be your next door neighbours.
Where would we be I wonder if our major national companies could only select their bosses from a pool of local talent, or our local football teams could hire only local players, born and bred a stone's throw away, not forgetting our up and coming Olympic athletes, to site just a few examples.
Local is what you make it. If that's all that counts, then it may go someway towards explaining the dire financial state we find ourselves in, as a result of kidding ourselves that local talent could best do the job, with scant regard for their ability to deliver.