Denied

So, we won't be having an election for our town councillors. 

Remember the hoo-ha during the April 2021 town council by-election? The town council had two vacancies and these would usually be replaced by co-opting. In spite of only 12 months to the end of the current town council, a campaign resulted in a forced by-election. This we attributed to those on social media or associated with a certain pub or even a political party (or all three). A by-election was no bad thing, as this is the most democratic method of bringing on board a new councillor, even if the by-election resulted in a more politicised council where previously town councillors tended to work together for the best for Rhuthun/Ruthin irrespective of politics. 

12 months later and we need a whole new council from May 5th. There are 15 seats on the town council and we have candidates for 11 of them. Whatever happened to the enthusiasm for elections displayed in April 2021? It's evaporated. We're back to the position where we cannot make a choice for our town councillors. Is faith in the town council so low that we cannot scrape together more than 11 candidates? Are people frightened off by some of the unseemly denigration of our town councillors on social media, criticism that is both unacceptably personal and shows a lack of understanding as to what the town council actually does?

Of the 11 now elected unopposed, only six are time served. Of these six, two hardly contribute. This leaves just four who therefore have experience as to how to run the town council. A further three are what you might call apprentices, two of whom were elected in April 2021 and one in 2018.  

The $64,000 question is, how will the town council fill the three vacant seats. We'd guess that there are plenty of what we might call 'progressive' candidates available, some of whom will have been put off by the prospect of an election and fear of losing. We'd reckon that there will be candidates well in excess of the four seats available. Which would rather beg the question, why can't we all have a chance to vote, rather than the town council itself.