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Stakesby by-election candidates withdraw
TWO of the candidates who put themselves up for election in the Stakesby ward have withdrawn.
Free Whitby followers Richard Ineson and Nigel Ward were two of the five candidates set to battle it out at the ballot box.
But this week, they both pulled out of the by-election, which will be held on Thursday 16 February.
In separate letters to Jim Dillon, the chief executive of Scarborough Borough Council, both men said they wanted to avoid the costs holding an election would incur.
Mr Ineson, of Church Street, implied his decision had been influenced by criticism surrounding the cost of the election amid fears it was depriving children of play equipment, or elderly people of facilities.
Mr Ward, of New Way Ghaut, added he understood a vacancy may be coming up in the Abbey ward where he lives so he would wait for that. He also said there was another candidate in the running whose political experience and knowledge “widely exceeds my own” and so he didn’t want to split the vote.
The remaining three candidates are now former town councillor Pete Budd of Sandside, Simon Parkes of Prospect Hill, who is a former labour councillor for the London borough of Hackney and Noreen Wilson of Rose Avenue.
The vacancies arose when, at the May 2011 elections, there were only two nominations for the four seats available on the Stakesby ward.
They were filled by the now Mayor of Whitby Coun John Freeman and the outgoing mayor, Terry Jennison, both of whom were elected without contest.
It was agreed with Scarborough Borough Council that the remaining two seats should be filled by co-option.
However, attempts to co-opt candidates at a controversial extraordinary meeting of Whitby Town Council called in June last year had to be abandoned when Mr Ineson and Helga Marrs withdrew their applications while the meeting was taking place.
The town council and a petition of 13 electors requested an election be called to try to fill the vacancies which was agreed by SBC in November.
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Comments
There are 3 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
Richard Ineson
Tuesday, January 31, 2012 at 02:36 PMAnother matter of record, I am not now, and never have been a 'Free Whitby' follower, I have no knowledge of this organisation, if indeed, any such organisation exists. I have seen the words 'Free Whitby' on various stickers etc. posted around the town, in the past, but I have no personal connection with any such material either physically or ideologically.. I do believe that Whitby could quite easily become self governing again, as it was prior to the misguided reorganisation of local government in 1974, and this accords with the policy of the Coalition Government - the Localism Bill. The people of Whitby have not been well served by Scarborough Borough Council, or North Yorkshire County Council, which is another matter of record.
Colin Winspear
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 06:05 PMTo quote from the above. "Mr Ward, of New Way Ghaut, added he understood a vacancy may be coming up in the Abbey ward where he lives so he would wait for that. He also said there was another candidate in the running whose political experience and knowledge “widely exceeds my own” and so he didn’t want to split the vote." May I ask will Mr ward also withdraw from the Abbey ward election, should there be another more qualified candidate? By that statement alone he has already done so before any election is held. However, as nice a man personally he may be. His antics I have witnessed first hand, along with his anti Council campaign, sorry "Free Whitby" campaign tactics, hardly bode well for someone seeking public office.
Richard Ineson
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 03:21 PMAs a matter of record, I did not withdraw from the co option process, in June last year, until I had been voted against, for co option to one of the vacant Stakesby seats, by Councillors, Jennison, Freeman, Collins,Jones,Murphy,Carson and Dickinson. I could see no point in proceeding with the co option process for the second seat, as the same Councillors would, no doubt, have voted against me, for co option to that seat also. This is not minuted in the Whitby Town Council minutes of that meeting, a matter which I have drawn to the attention of the Clerk to the Council, the Mayor and several of the Councillors. This is what brought about the need for a costly, and in my mind, an unnecessary election; another example of the profligate waste of public money, for which all of the three Councils in this area, are so well known.
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