Freedom from choice

Nice to be Mayor, to be Mayor, nice!The next Lord Mayor is a shoo-in. Of course. And not everybody's happy about it. Of course.

So, the Canterbury City Conservatives have "arranged" a smooth transition from one Lord Mayor to the next. Please don't be surprised or disappointed by the absence of consultation - it seems to be their style. They may have a grudging admiration for the Soviet era ballots with 99% turnout and 100% agreement. I expect the North Korean style of compulsory consistent consensus is an inspiration to our own Precious Leader, Jonji-il Bi. But when it comes down to it, is anyone bothered which councillors fill the roles of Lord Mayor and Sheriff? Wouldn't it be smarter to choose the most photogenic and media-savvy people from the district, regardless of whether they're councillors?

Anger over lack of consultation for Lord Mayor choice

Tory councillor Pat Todd has been nominated to take on the role of Lord Mayor for a second time. An email sent to all council members this week by leader Cllr John Gilbey stated that Cllr Todd is in line for the prestigious civic job, a post he previously held in 2006/7. Another Tory councillor, Northgate representative Sally Pickersgill, has also been nominated as the new Sheriff of Canterbury.

The pair are expected to be voted in by the Conservative-controlled council at its annual meeting at the Guildhall on May 12, replacing Cllrs Harry Cragg and Gabrielle Davis. But Liberal Democrat leader Cllr Alex Perkins is angry that opposition councillors have again been ‘frozen out’ of the selection process. He said:

"I’ve got nothing against Pat. He’s a good bloke who did a fine job last time he was Lord Mayor. But yet again we’ve not been consulted and instead had this presidential style announcement via email by the council leader. It’s very wrong because there are other councillors who would have liked to have been offered the opportunity."

Labour group leader Cllr Julia Seath said:

"There are only two Labour members on the council and as it happens neither of us are interested. Cllr Todd is a very likeable and capable councillor but he has done it before and it would have been nice to see perhaps a long-serving Liberal Democrat member have the chance. But I’m not surprised. How the Conservatives have handled it has become a bit par for the course with them."

Cllr Gilbey said the group had started the selection process some months ago because they did not want it to clash with the general election. He said that neither opposition groups had contacted him about any of their potential candidates and he accused them of not supporting the role of Lord Mayor by failing to attend civic functions like the Lord Mayor’s ball. He said:

"They very rarely turn up and it’s really poor because it’s about recognising the importance of the office of Lord Mayor as much as the individual. Pat was the only one in the group who was really keen and there is no precedent which says he can’t serve a second term. We know he is very capable and a safe pair of hands and that’s what the position needs because it carries significant responsibilities. We had three candidates for Sheriff from the group but the vote went to Cllr Pickersgill who I am sure will do a good job."

HB Gazette 6th May 2010

Gilbey in fighting mood

A retired teacher from Harrogate has joined the fight to save Herne Bay Museum. Linda O'Carroll has set up a special page on the web encyclopedia Wikipedia and has approached the National Lottery for how to get a grant. She said:

"Although I live in Harrogate I grew up in Herne Bay in the 1950s and 60s and regard it as my museum. I was shocked to read that the city council wants to close it. It is a slap in the face for all Herne Bay people."

The council wants to close the William Street building to the general public to save costs and has plans to open up the ground floor to take school parties by appointment. But Linda said:

"Lottery staff have told me the Museum is an extremely likely case and that if successful would get full funding for its needs over the next five years. That the application would cost the council nothing. The Sheriff of Canterbury (Cllr Gabrielle Davis) is researching this but the application must be submitted as soon as possible."

She has also uploaded edited highlights of the council Executive debate to Youtube. She said: "It is an eye-opener." It includes leader Cllr John Gilbey saying:

"You just wonder if they have got any interest in the issues other than the big ticket ones that get them in the paper. It's really disgraceful. It's absolutely disgraceful that they can't see what this council is doing. But we will fight that. We will fight it tooth and nail to show them what we are doing. No question. After what we have seen this evening you wonder if they have any interest in the big issue other than getting into the newspaper."

Cllr Gilbey said later he had not meant to cause offence or single out any one group of campaigners. The Tory leader said:

"What I said was not about Herne Bay. It was about all of the protestors, all the people in there. The moment it was over they got up and walked out and didn't stay for the capital budget which is all about the building projects and other work we are doing. All the good news was in the capital budget. Of course we get frustrated – we just wonder if they have any interest in anything beyond their own little campaign and any understanding about everything else we have to do."

From: thisiskent

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Gilbey wants to fight... What? Blindness? Any protestor?

Hmmm... I do get the impression that Cllr Gilbey would prefer some version of democracy that involved much less interference from the general public, who selfishly focus on what affects them. Hopefully he's pleased about the YouTube coverage giving us all an opportunity to see some of what the Council does. I agree whole-heartedly that it is "absolutely disgraceful that [we] can't see what [our] council is doing". The vast majority of votes are carried on a show of hands, with no record whatsoever of how each councillor has voted. I think that's disgraceful, but easily fixed: a simple electronic voting system would let us see very clearly what our councillors are doing.

The resolute defenders of the Museum have set up their own little Museum-o-Vision channel on YouTube here.

Shame

Here's another kick in the teeth for local democracy: local Councillors who can't be bothered to reply to an email from one of their constituents about a constituency matter.

My fine and beloved woman emailed the Councillors for Reculver Ward.
One out of the three replied.
Congratulations Gillian Reuby.
Shame on you Ann Taylor and Gabrielle Davis.

She also emailed the Herne Bay Area Members Panel.
Three out of the thirteen replied.
Congratulations Gillian Reuby, Peter Vickery-Jones and Ron Flaherty.
Shame on you Ann Taylor, Gabrielle Davis, Evelyn Bisset, Sharon Sonnex, Peter Lee, Vince McMahan, Margaret Flaherty, Roger Matthews, Ken Hando and Robert Bright.

If any of the "shy" Councillors have a convincing explanation for not replying, do please let me know. Otherwise, you keep your place in the Hall of Shame.