Crossword Genius

Local left in charge of a community (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

public

'of a community' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'local left in charge' is the wordplay.
'local' becomes 'pub' (I've seen this before).
'left' becomes 'l' (common abbreviation).
'in charge' becomes 'ic'.
'pub'+'l'+'ic'='PUBLIC'

(Other definitions for public that I've seen before include "School or house" , "Open to or concerning the people as a whole" , "Offence against common decency" , "Overt" , "Relating to the general community" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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