Voters to choose a new ward councillors (From Barry And District News)

Voters to choose a new ward councillors

A BY-ELECTION is being held in the Gibbonsdown ward because the Labour candidate who won the seat in June, failed to sign a vital document within the allotted time.

In June, Kalpana Natarajan was elected but was unable to sign the papers making her appointment official. She was abroad at the time. Under the local government act of 1972 the elected candidate has to sign the form before or at the first council meeting. This was not done.

The two candidates on offer for Gibbonsdown residents are Plaid Cymru's Trudi Watts and Labour's Dennis Harkus.

Labour Party candidate, Dennis Harkus said: "I've lived in Barry for most of my life and in the Gibbonsdown Ward for 30 years. I know the area very well. I worked in local government for 34 years, gaining valuable experience in dealing with housing management, housing maintenance and I have a considerable knowledge about how local councils work and how to get things done.

"I'm proud to be a member of the local Labour Party that has worked so hard in this ward to fight for local issues. From the fight to save the Gibbonsdown Children's centre, tackling anti-social behaviour, the campaign to protect White Farm, and the battle against fly-tipping and vandalism."

Plaid Cymru candidate Trudi Watts of Merthyr Dyfan Road said: "As a resident of the Gibbonsdown ward for nearly 30 years and after many Labour disappointments I decided to stand for council. Labour councillors and supporters seem to think that the Gibbonsdown ward is their 'turf' and that the residents of the ward don't deserve the chance of electing a decent alternative to Labour. They have run a negative by-election so far.

"I personally have a long record of campaigning on various issues in the ward. I first campaigned in the 1990s when the Conservative government tried to sell off the council housing stock to private landlords. I can assure residents that I am against this policy."

The election will take place on Thursday, October 21.