COUNCILLORS OPPOSE CUTS

http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/2009/12/04/conwy-county-opposes-cut-in-councillors-55578-25318479/


I DON’T!
I believe we are over represented by, in some cases, those on the gravy-train. If County Councillors were honest with themselves they too would be able to see it from the public’s point of view. There are Councillors who have told me other Councillors have said “I’m only here for the money” Well name and bloody shame them! Get rid of the useless pieces of shite and replace them with people who have an ounce of decency and care about their community; don’t go along with the old-boy network just because it’s the “done thing”... name them!
Hardly anyone has a good word to say about our Councillors probably because we don’t believe a word they say when they complain that they do a worthwhile job. They surround themselves in secrecy and a “need to know” policy in which, to some of them, knowledge is power. Get off your high horses, stop being full of piss and your own self-importance and start representing what the people want and not what Council Officers say they can have.
If we had less “yes-men” and more people prepared to argue for the rights of the public then I could understand their whinging, but we haven’t, they go along with a minority of Councillors who are “Council brained” and influence them with their leftie rhetoric. It is this minority that give all Councillors the reputations they have.
We actually do have some very good Councillors but they are bogged-down in the mire caused by these few bureaucratic career Councillors who believe “Democracy” is something that only they can decide upon.

GOOD DECISION.... ON MY PART.

I think my decision to look at UKIP before joining it was a good move; whilst I agree with what they stand for nationally, locally they appear to be a damp squid.
The fact that their new party leader, Lord Pearson, was prepared to do a deal with the Tories, denied by some members, is also very off-putting, imagine being told you cannot stand in this election because the Conservatives are standing, not what you paid you’re party fees for, is it?
UKIP, locally, which is what I would have been involved in, appears stagnant and without enthusiasm, something I know the members feel, and in a letter from their Chairman, Warwick Nicholson, confirmed it “ The membership showed no enthusiasm for a December meeting”. There is an election looming, they have 6 months to get ready for it and they cannot be bothered to hold a monthly meeting!
You cannot blame the members if they are poorly led and ill advised for their apathy. It is up to the local leaders to lead by example, if you look at their North Wales web-site there as only been 5 entries since the beginning of November....
http://www.ukipnorthwales.org/
Not, exactly, encouraging, is it?
Holding their meetings in a draughty Church Hall is not my idea of a party going anywhere any time soon; they need to brighten-up their image, get out and meet the people and be bold and decisive. Their reliance on poor local leadership, bad advice from under qualified and over titled political advisors and their inability to climb above their local action group status is going to cost them dearly in the forthcoming election.
I can only wish the local membership well, but I fear it may already be too late for them; unless there is a monumental transformation soon; then they will be in the same position after the election only a lot more deflated than they already are.

COMMUNITY COUNCILLORS CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Before I start I am not insinuating that there is any link between Colwyn Bay’s Communities First and the one in the news item. What I am trying to get across is that Town and Community Councillors can, if they are persistent, make a difference.
The Community Councillor who instigated this investigation was ridiculed and, no doubt, criticised for what was called “Unsubstantiated claims”, nevertheless her persistence paid off and two officers, the Co-ordinator Miriam Beard and Monitoring Officer Andy Bunning, have both been suspended following initial investigations by WAG and the Welsh Audit Office.
“Minor” Councillors can, if they are open, honest and vocal enough, get things done; they may have to put up with harassment, political and personal verbal attacks and false accusations but, at the end of the day, if they feel morally right then they can succeed. My admiration goes out to the Community Councillor involved in this; Mandy Bostwick.

http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/2009/12/01/north-wales-community-bosses-suspended-55578-25291628/

BY ALL MEANS.....REPORT ME!

I have been sent copies of emails sent between Councillor Hughes and Pat Jackson, they include personal details of Councillor Hughes so I will not publish them, and in them Councillor Hughes gives “personal problems” as an excuse for not calling a meeting.
I have also received numerous phone calls; one informed me that despite being sent cheques to countersign Councillor Hughes refused to sign them, rendering the Society unable to spend any money. The Society’s bank account only holds between £5-600, not a lot but they are still unable to put it to use and because of that members have ceased donating to the Society.
Once again I have been asked to publish the address of the Pier’s petition site which I have signed along with Councillor Maratos....

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/colwynpier/

Amongst the phone calls I received was one saying that Councillor Hughes is out and about telling people I am telling mistruths about him, you, the readers, can decide that for yourselves; but if that is the case then I am prepared to answer for my actions to any Standards Committee that he wishes to complain to. I stand by EVERYTHING I have written and am in possession of documentary proof to support it.

THE SHAME CONTINUES

Councillor Chris Hughes once branded me short sighted over my proposals to regenerate the Town centre and claimed that the Council had “An exciting development planned for the old indoor market” when questioned about it he told us he would not tell us because it was “Commercially sensitive”. It was his smug, superior attitude in the way he delivered that comment that made me want to find out more, so, basically, I have him to thank for leading me on to the road of discovery over Council misdemeanours. The latest post on him brought a good response, a lot of which even I didn’t dare publish! It also brought to me a copy of a letter sent to him by Pat Jackson, Secretary of Friends of the Pier Society (copy below). In it she asks Councillor Hughes to confirm his position in regards to his Chairmanship of the Society, note the date, 7th October, she has still not received a reply.
The Pier is in dispute with the Council; Chris Hughes is a prominent member of that Council and yet still refuses to resign as Chairman of the Friends Society. If Chris Hughes himself cannot see the CONFLICT OF INTEREST is there anyone else on the Council who can? Surely if the Council wish to retain any credibility at all over the sorrowful issue of the Pier then someone on it must pull Councillor Hughes to one side and say “Okay Chris, you’ve damaged them enough, people are now starting to notice we are playing dirty, time to call it a day”
The more I look at this case the more I believe Steve Hunt’s claims that he was “fit-up” and the more the Council allow Councillor Hughes to “blunder” around the more people that will agree with me, it is no longer disgraceful; it is shamefully disgraceful.


Cllr Chris Hughes
Conwy County Borough Council
Bodlondeb
CONWAY
LL32 8DU 7th October 2009

Dear Councillor Hughes

Re Friends of Victoria Pier, Colwyn Bay

I refer to your e-mail of the 7th May 2009 when you stated, as Chairman of the Friends of the Pier, that you would arrange something i.e an AGM of the Friends within the next two weeks. There has not been an AGM for the past three years.

Previous to that when a meeting of the Friends was called by others you attended and branded the meeting as unconstitutional and refused to stand down as Chairman. You then informed me that it was the Chairman’s duty to call AGMs.

The point of this letter is that it appears from your Register of Members Interests at the Council, that you do not list any interest in ‘Friends of the Pier’. I do not appear to have had any official resignation letter from you.

Please, therefore, would you please explain by return of post your position with regard to the ‘Friends of the Pier.’

Yours sincerely


Pat Jackson
Secretary and Treasurer
Friends of the Pier.

OSCAR'S IDENTITY FINALLY REVEALED

http://llandudno-and-colwyn-local.blogspot.com/2009/11/twinkle-twinkle.html

OSCAR, CLLR HUGHES AND THE CONSERVATIVES

After an article appeared on Thoughts of Oscar today...
http://thoughtsofoscar.blogspot.com/search/label/Cllr%20Chris%20Hughes

... in which he criticises Councillor Chris Hughes for his comments one has to wonder if Councillor Hughes will actually name the Council Officer who made the comment he referred to, or is it, once again, more Labour spin and deceit? The local Conservatives have remained remarkably quiet about it, perhaps, like me they missed the original article..... http://www.northwalesweeklynews.co.uk/conwy-county-news/local-conwy-news/2009/11/19/huge-cuts-planned-at-conwy-council-55243-25200572/

When Councillors make such claims they should, at least, be able to substantiate them; which, once again, begs the question why haven’t the Conservatives been demanding answers from Councillor Hughes, are they scared of taking on the might of Councillor Hughes or was he speaking the truth? If the Conservatives wish to hide behind a wall of silence then so be it but if Councillor Hughes was using deceit then, surely, this would be the ideal opportunity for the Conservatives to gain Brownie points with the electorate, they must question his comments or appear weak and powerless.
If they need ammunition to fire at Councillor Hughes they could also ask him why he remains as Chairman of The Friends of the Pier Society; having not called a meeting in over three and a half years and closed down the meeting called by the membership to remove him. Even I can give them that information and the society’s Secretary’s details for confirmation.

Not long ago Oscar was thinking of calling it a day and packing-in blogging, what I think he failed to realise was just how much information he puts into the public domain that would otherwise remain unheard of or commented on. His blog is a mine of information that anyone of us can tap into; his decision to continue, undoubtedly, caused a few Councillors to groan out aloud, after this I think Councillor Hughes might be one of them.