Local leader could strike gold (5)
I believe the answer is:
mayor
'local leader' is the definition.
'mayor' can be an answer for 'leader' (I have seen 'Municipal leader' mean 'mayor' so perhaps 'leader' could also mean 'mayor'). I'm not certain of the 'local' bit.
'could strike gold' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'could' could be 'may' (I've seen this before) and 'may' is found within the answer.
'gold' could be 'or' ('or' is the heraldic name for gold) and 'or' is found within the answer.
This accounts for all the letters.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for mayor that I've seen before include "City government head" , "Civic dignitary" , "Town's elected head" , "Municipal official" , "Corporation head" .)