THREE vacancies on Westbury Town Council have been filled by co-option.
Fifteen candidates put their names forward to be considered, making these the most hotly contested seats in the history of the council.
Mayor of Westbury cllr Sue Ezra said, “This must be the best response we’ve ever had, and I’m sure that the three people elected will serve the town council to their full potential.
“I would have liked a proper by-election called but people evidently didn’t want us to hold one that way.”
For a full by-election to take place rather than co-option, ten members of the public must present their signatures calling for an election to be held.
Of the 15 names proposed for co-option, 12 candidates presented themselves at the full town council meeting on Monday 6th of July. Each was given two minutes to speak before the existing councillors voted through their nominations in a secret ballot.
Of the 12 candidates who attended the meeting only one, Phillip Brown, was voted onto the council in person. Cllr Brown is secretary of the Westbury and District Development Trust. He will sit on the Ham ward.
Also voted onto the council in their absence was ex-town councillor David Tout (Ham ward) and pro-bypass campaigner Dorian Jones (Laverton ward). Cllr Jones is also a member of the Westbury League of Friends. Neither were able to attend the meeting, but offered their apologies. Among the remaining 11 who were unsuccessful were British National Party member Richard Dredge and ex-town councillor David Lux who had to stand down in 2002 when he became bankrupt.
The co-option came under fire from frequent council critic Bruce Evans of Lanhams Close who claimed the process was un-democratic and open to corruption. However, Bruce Evans did accept that the choice of new councillors was a good one which “balanced our council more evenly.”
He added, “In any future vacancy we must decide whether we want to spend the money and maintain a democracy or do nothing and risk dictatorship. I think an election would be money well spent.”
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