I have had some interesting responses by phone and e-mail to the newspaper article that appeared in the Weekly News mentioned in my last post. People are always welcome to e-mail me or to phone me to express their views, however there is a comments form at the bottom of every post on this blog; and the newspaper article specifically asks for a debate in its letters page.
90% of the 300+personal responses that I have had so far have been personal, mostly jocular, many supportive and a handful abusive. About 10% have been constructive and would be better made in a public forum rather than in private! I would encourage that 10% to make their comments known to the letters editors of their local papers, on blog comment forms, on twitter etc. This is an important public issue – so don't tell me personally what you think in private – tell the public what you think in public!
With 93 Welsh county councillors being elected unopposed, one county ward not even having a single candidate stand and more than 6,000 Welsh Community Councillors elected without contest, there is something wrong with the democratic process that demands that community reps are elected by the community! What's going wrong is, surely, a matter for serious debate amongst all of us who respect the democratic process!
Some of those who have contacted me have been other councillors who were elected unopposed in their various communities who feel, somehow, that my comments were a criticism of them. That, of course, is rubbish!
All of us who put our names forward for election did so knowing that an election was, at least, a possibility so we entered the fray honestly and it's not our fault that others couldn't be bothered to stand against us; but it must also be part of our responsibility, as representatives of our communities, to ask why there is such disinterest in membership of our county and community councils.
Showing posts with label Glan Conwy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Glan Conwy. Show all posts
19/05/2012
18/05/2012
Community Councillor Needs to Buy New Shirt!
Damn and Blast! I should have made sure that I was wearing a decent shirt before allowing the North Wales Weekly News to photograph me for their article on my non-election to the community council! I hadn't noticed the frayed collar until I saw the picture in the paper - very embarrassing!
The tie is of my Betton family tartan, a sept of Clan MacBeth, which does not (of necessity) signify Hubble Bubble Toil and Trouble for the Community Council!
06/04/2012
Call me Cllr MOF
I have been elected, without contest, to Llansanffraid Glan Conwy Community Council. With only 11 candidates for 12 seats there will be no election for the community council again this year.
Having looked through old local newspapers I cannot find any reference to Glan Conwy Council being subject to election since the end of the Second World War (with the exception of me and Dan standing in a by-election last year).
I'm sure that Glan Conwy isn't unique in this respect; there will be a large number of other community councilors who are also selected without election through all of Wales.
I have been congratulated on my "election" by many members of the community, but I don't think that congratulations are in order; I am bitterly disappointed that I have just been selected without having to go through the rigours of the electoral process. I would have preferred to have stood an election, made my case and lost miserably rather than be, yet another shoo in, in the long list of shoo ins to the council!
Community Councils are the foundation stone of the democratic process, the fact that so many community councillors are selected without election makes a farce of local democracy.
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There are four candidates for the County Council elections in the Llansanffraid Ward for Conwy
Ivonne Sarah Lesiter-Burgess Welsh Liberal Democrat
John Malcolm Spicer Independent
Dan Worsley Welsh Conservative Party
and
the candidate who will have my support
Graham "Gas" Rees
Having looked through old local newspapers I cannot find any reference to Glan Conwy Council being subject to election since the end of the Second World War (with the exception of me and Dan standing in a by-election last year).
I'm sure that Glan Conwy isn't unique in this respect; there will be a large number of other community councilors who are also selected without election through all of Wales.
I have been congratulated on my "election" by many members of the community, but I don't think that congratulations are in order; I am bitterly disappointed that I have just been selected without having to go through the rigours of the electoral process. I would have preferred to have stood an election, made my case and lost miserably rather than be, yet another shoo in, in the long list of shoo ins to the council!
Community Councils are the foundation stone of the democratic process, the fact that so many community councillors are selected without election makes a farce of local democracy.
--------------
There are four candidates for the County Council elections in the Llansanffraid Ward for Conwy
Ivonne Sarah Lesiter-Burgess Welsh Liberal Democrat
John Malcolm Spicer Independent
Dan Worsley Welsh Conservative Party
and
the candidate who will have my support
Graham "Gas" Rees
06/01/2012
Glan Conwy May 2012 Elections
I have been receiving odd e-mails, comments etc, that suggest that I might be standing election for a New Nationalist Party, as an Independent Nationalist a Plaid Candidate or even as a Conservative Party Candidate for the Llansanffraid ward of Conwy County Council next May!
NONE of these rumours are true! I will vote for and give my wholehearted support to the re-election of Graham (Gas) Rees, regardless of whoever else is standing, on the County ballot!
I will be putting my name forward as a candidate for the Community Council as a truly independent candidate, and that means as independent of The Gas Man as much as independent of the established parties!
I will be standing in my own name on my own ticket - but I hope that I can count on your support!
NONE of these rumours are true! I will vote for and give my wholehearted support to the re-election of Graham (Gas) Rees, regardless of whoever else is standing, on the County ballot!
I will be putting my name forward as a candidate for the Community Council as a truly independent candidate, and that means as independent of The Gas Man as much as independent of the established parties!
I will be standing in my own name on my own ticket - but I hope that I can count on your support!
18/09/2011
And another thing that peeves me about Glan Conwy Council!
According to the last published minutes of the Council those in attendance were:
Cllr.Mrs.S.Lesiter-Burgess, Cllr.J.Spicer, Cllr.Mrs.C.Evans, Cllr.Mrs.A.Parry, Cllr.Mrs.P.Rogers, Cllr.T.S.Buckley, Cllr.O.Evans-Jones, Cllr.C.P.Barton, Cllr.D.J.Rees, Cllr.Mrs.S.Edmondson.
Why is Cllr Dai Rees described as Cllr, but Cllr Pam Rogers described as Cllr Mrs?
Isn't noting a female councillor's gender and marital status rather Jurassic?
Doesn't this council need kicking into the 21st century?
Cllr.Mrs.S.Lesiter-Burgess, Cllr.J.Spicer, Cllr.Mrs.C.Evans, Cllr.Mrs.A.Parry, Cllr.Mrs.P.Rogers, Cllr.T.S.Buckley, Cllr.O.Evans-Jones, Cllr.C.P.Barton, Cllr.D.J.Rees, Cllr.Mrs.S.Edmondson.
Why is Cllr Dai Rees described as Cllr, but Cllr Pam Rogers described as Cllr Mrs?
Isn't noting a female councillor's gender and marital status rather Jurassic?
Doesn't this council need kicking into the 21st century?
16/09/2011
No democracy in co-option!
Putting apart sour grapes (and my grapes are very sour) elections are the way in which we should choose our representatives. There is something wrong in the way that community councillors are co-opted under the current system!
The rules are that ten people have to ask for a community council by-election; if that doesn't happen then the council co-opts.
In my last experience three candidates wanted to be considered as community councillor - but there was no election.
In my opinion three candidates should automatically trigger an election – three people after the same elected job – put it to the voters!
Surely the very fact that more than one person wants an elected position should automatically trigger an election makes sense in a democracy!
The only reason for co-option should be if nobody had put their name forward for election!
And now for some more sour grapes - Drew wouldn't have stood a chance against me in an open election, so he wouldn't have taken the risk of standing! I would have won unoposed!
So much for democracy!
The rules are that ten people have to ask for a community council by-election; if that doesn't happen then the council co-opts.
In my last experience three candidates wanted to be considered as community councillor - but there was no election.
In my opinion three candidates should automatically trigger an election – three people after the same elected job – put it to the voters!
Surely the very fact that more than one person wants an elected position should automatically trigger an election makes sense in a democracy!
The only reason for co-option should be if nobody had put their name forward for election!
And now for some more sour grapes - Drew wouldn't have stood a chance against me in an open election, so he wouldn't have taken the risk of standing! I would have won unoposed!
So much for democracy!
14/09/2011
Glan Conwy Community Council
The council co-opted a vacancy today to a person who lives in Eglwysbach, rather than a resident of our village!
I am very annoyed. Only two people have asked the voters of Glan Conwy to support their membership of the community council in the past 30 years! Me and Dan.
Dan won fair and square in the August poll, but I had more votes than any other member of the community council has ever gained! It is a travesty that the support that I gained in an open election should be overridden by internal favouritism.
I will stand for election again next May, on my record of community service, which I hope the people of Glan Conwy will respect! I can guarantee that I will beat some of the nodding donkies who are, with all respect, an embarrassment to Glan Conwy Council!
I am very annoyed. Only two people have asked the voters of Glan Conwy to support their membership of the community council in the past 30 years! Me and Dan.
Dan won fair and square in the August poll, but I had more votes than any other member of the community council has ever gained! It is a travesty that the support that I gained in an open election should be overridden by internal favouritism.
I will stand for election again next May, on my record of community service, which I hope the people of Glan Conwy will respect! I can guarantee that I will beat some of the nodding donkies who are, with all respect, an embarrassment to Glan Conwy Council!
10/08/2009
Dig for Victory!
Today marks the beginning of National Allotment Week, apparently. I don’t like these national days and national weeks particularly – there are too many of them to start with! But I would like an allotment.
Yesterday I had a very nice Sunday Dinner: Pork from a local butcher and all the veg grown in my own garden. Unfortunately my garden is very, very small, so the home grown dinners are a very rare treat. I need an allotment so that I have a patch that is big enough to feed the family all season.
Jonathan T Clark of Plaid Monmouth stated on a recent post that The 1908 Small Holdings and Allotment Act says the council has a duty to provide land if they are satisfied there is demand and if six electors petition that council, their representations have to be taken into consideration.
I wonder if I have five readers who live in Llansanffraid Glan Conwy who would like to join me in petitioning the local council. (If there is interest my e-mail address is at the top the left side bar).
Yesterday I had a very nice Sunday Dinner: Pork from a local butcher and all the veg grown in my own garden. Unfortunately my garden is very, very small, so the home grown dinners are a very rare treat. I need an allotment so that I have a patch that is big enough to feed the family all season.
Jonathan T Clark of Plaid Monmouth stated on a recent post that The 1908 Small Holdings and Allotment Act says the council has a duty to provide land if they are satisfied there is demand and if six electors petition that council, their representations have to be taken into consideration.
I wonder if I have five readers who live in Llansanffraid Glan Conwy who would like to join me in petitioning the local council. (If there is interest my e-mail address is at the top the left side bar).
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