General Discussion
And on the subject of elections..........
Anyone know when this will take place? And who is in the running?
Just idle curiosity really on my part as I've just looked on the town council website and the last meeting showing as being scheduled to take place was on the 12th of this month (ie last week).
The nomination(s) and election of the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor is scheduled to take place at the Dawlish Town Council meeting on May 3rd. The various committees and representations on external bodies will also be formally proposed (and hopefully agreed) at the same meeting.
As you have correctly pointed out on another thread Lynne, two councillors have recently resigned. How and when these vacancies will be filled is as yet unknown.
From TDC's website:
Casual vacancies
Parish and Town Council vacancies
If a seat becomes vacant on a Parish or Town Council, the Clerk is required to give public notice of it. To call an election, 10 or more electors for the electoral area need to make a request, in writing, and within 14 working days of the date of the notice. The request or requests must be sent to the Proper Officer of the District Council. If enough requests are received the Returning Officer will set the date of the election which must be within 60 days of the date of the notice of vacancy. If enough requests have not been received by the due date, the Town or Parish Council is allowed to make their own arrangements to fill the vacancy by co-option.
If you click on this link
http://www.dawlish.gov.uk/documents.php
and then scroll down you will see a heading 'Other' concerning the 2 x casual vacancies caused by the resignation of Cllrs John and Linda Petherick.
If you click on the link at 'Other' (it won't let me post it) you will find details about how these two vacancies can be filled.
The deadline for nominations for those seeking election is 10th May 2017. If there are no nominations the council will try and fill the vacancies by way of co-option.
You have asked who is in the running Lynne.
It is customary for the serving Deputy Mayor to take over the reigns from the departing Mayor unopposed (with the Independents/Lib Dems and the Conservatives effectively taking turns to hold office, as the 50/50 share of Town Council seats has allowed) however, while it would be irregular, it would not be impossible for a 'rival' candidate to come forward.
On this occasion we have a departing Conservative Mayor and a Lib Dem Deputy Mayor. Given that the Council has sadly just lost the services of two very good Independent Councillors, if protocol is not observed and a rival Conservative Mayoral candidate does emerge, it is quite possible the majority now afforded the Conservatives could result in an upset.
It is to be hoped that under such circumstances, the outgoing Mayor - who has made a point of saying that she 'does not do politics' - will do the right thing if a tied decision dictates the use of the Mayor's casting vote.
Irregular but not unprecedented. Graham Price was ousted by the Voicesw For Dawlish crowd a few years ago.
Ah yes! I remember now.
I also remember, now that this is all being stirred up from the depths of what is left of my ever ageing brain, Linda Petherick saying at the time (2011) that because some in the town disagreed with John being mayor (and she being the mayoress) that she and John had nasty names called at them in the street. I think she also said something about being spat at.
Can't remember where it was I read all that but I am as certain as I can be that I haven't imagined it.
But the people of Dawlish spoke - and they wanted it saved.
And we all know that the will of the people must be obeyed..........
And saved to good effect, Lynne. But no need to take just my word for it, Cllr Humphrey Clemens (current Chairman of the Finance & General Purposes Committee on Dawlish Town Council) has much to say about the Manor House (and the take over of the former Hedley Centre, nka the Riverside Centre) in his annual report in this week's Gazette.
You can find his report (and others) on page 3 in the article 'Mayor Angela: It's been a fantastic year'.
Hello,
new here, but quite confused. if normal protocol is for the deputy mayor to become the next mayor (as highlighted by @Gary Taylor) then why in this case is there an election instead?
@HuwMatthews2 mentioned how mr price was ousted by voices of dawlish and that it was an irregular but not unprecedented event.
So why is the Deputy Mayor being opposed?
Is Cllr Wrigley not Mayor material?
Seems like the most obvious question hasn't been answered here; Why might protocol be ignored for 'politics'? Nobody seems to be discussing why this irregularity might occur.
Not exactly a coronation (as the somewhat depleted Conservative members abstained from the vote) however the new Mayor, Martin Wrigley (nominated by Howard Almond, Ind; seconded by Carole Tamlyn, Ind) was sworn in on Wednesday.
For information, at the meeting it was announced that a Conservative Councillor has resigned. The Council therefore has now three vacancies, one in NE Ward and one in Central Ward, each with a deadline (for ten electors to write in to ask to trigger an election) of 10th May and one in SW Ward with a later deadline of 25th May. If ten electors do not write in, the matter will be resolved via co-option (i.e. by a vote of Council members).
P.S. Those interested in becoming candidates do not have to live in the Ward they represent (or even in the Parish of Dawlish) but they should live within a certain distance (which I think is three miles or thereabouts) of the Ward.
That'll look good on Wrigley's CV... Unlike last night's disaster... Though I'm sure I've already seen his spin doctor trying to put a coat of gloss on the thrashing he received at the polls...
@From The Grave, yes it's telling how the dawlish mayor election thread was revived today. it's touching really how dedicated a spin doctor can be to their superior.
Did anyone actually envisage a coronation! Laughable.
Regarding the DCC election, Wrigley's failure was hardly unexpected.
So nothing changes. Wrigley remains divisive and Clatworthy allegedly won't attend Dawlish Town Council meetings because of Wrigley. The petty squabbling, name calling, alleged 'falsehoods' and alleged 'dirty tricks' continue and this farce of a town council plods on.
P.S. Those interested in becoming candidates should live in the Ward they represent, not somewhere else within a certain distance like three miles or thereabouts of the Ward. It might be legal, but is it ethical?
Why Wrigley spent a few months on Starcross Parish Council when he lives outside of that parish and had nothing to do with the community is a very peculiar indeed.
Wrigley and Clatworthy were quite friendly with each other chatting away outside the Polling Station in the Avenues yesterday evening
@roberta politicians putting on their public personas? one might have been confident, the other with delusions of grandeur perhaps? That was yesterday.
Thank you for that posting Roberta.
There is no doubt that the policy tussles between these two main candidates, together with their old school / new broom campaigning styles, has resulted in a certain amount of negative posturing. On a personal level however, both have the same aim - to do the best for the communities they represent.
Like Martin Wrigley, I spent much of polling day doing telling outside of polling booths and - as fate would have it - often found myself alongside John Clatworthy. With policy (and any talk of Brexit) strictly off the agenda, we got on in the same friendly way that we often do when we meet on the way to the paper shop.
At the count, we both saw John again and congratulated him on his win. Will this rapprochment herald a return to business as usual in the Council Chamber? I am absolutely sure it will.
Meanwhile in the wider world of politics, the gloves are coming off...
'Business as usual' in the council chamber is the problem. Who wants to see a return to that?
Fighting talk from the Lib Dems... Farron is like a political gladiator.
@garytaylor I wouldn't waste your time with @indyscot he just seems like a vindictive pitiful troll with a grudge
@SickOfIt the council chamber hardly functions cordially and I do not think Farron is leadership material. Why is that vindictive or trolling?
What exactly do you object to?
What's vindictive is your obsession with Cllr Martin Wrigley that, let's face it, borders on psychotic
@SickOfIt is my questioning of wrigley's candidacy what you're 'sick of'? you joined the site yesterday right?
Interesting day, yesterday - the 5th of May.
And all your posts to date relate to this one thread about the Mayor.
You really need to look up the words 'vindictive' and 'psychotic'. I've written nothing hurtful and that isn't grounded in reality.
You always have the option to report me, if you think your complaint has any substance.