Early Tasks For New Council

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31809, 14 October 1968, Page 1

Early Tasks For New Council

One of the first tasks for the new City Council once the final count confirms the constitution will be the appointment of committees and their chairmen.

One appointment that is certain is the re-election of Mr H. P. Smith as DeputyMayor and it is equally certain that there will be no contestants for his position as chairman of the finance and by-laws committee.

There is a vacancy for chairman of the electricity committee, caused by the death of Mr W. E. Olds just before the end of the last council. This c<uld lead to some rearrangement of chairmen. Mr W. P. Glue has been chairman of the town planning committee, but he accepted it reluctantly three vears ago when Mr G. D. Griffiths lost his seat. Mr Griffiths is now back, but in the meantime, as the council’s representative, he has been elected chairman of the Christchurch Regional Planning Authority. He would be an obvious choice, but the council committee is a demanding one and his commitments may prevent acceptance. Mr G. D. Hattaway is an experienced councillor with the time available and with close knowledge of both town

planning and electricity. He might be a candidate for either committee, with Mr W. V. Cowles succeeding him as chairman of the works and services committee. CHANCE OF SEAT When there are experienced councillors available it is unusual to give a new member a chairmanship, but Mr D. B. Dallas, who retired last month as District Commissioner of Works, could be such a choice, if he is elected. On Saturday night he was at the top of the list of unsuccessful candidates, but has a chance of gaining a seat on the final count. Mr A. R. Guthrey, now to be Mayor, has been chairman of the city development committee, which was formed after the last election and took over some important policy duties from the works committee and included the airport. It is possible that he will retain a chairmanship. That

would be in line with his view that he has been elected on a personal platform of being an “administrative” mayor and he may think he can achieve this as a committee chairman in close touch with administration. If he was to retain his airport committee, he would appoint a deputy, which would be something new. There may be other changes, both in the constitution of the committees and their chairmen. SOME CHANGES

Some changes will have tc be made in the council’s representatives on outside bodies as a result of Labour councillors losing their seats, but there is a precedent for leaving a former councillor as a representative if he has qualifications for the work. The few Labour councillors left are going to be busy as an “opposition.” Talking after the election, Mr Guthrey said that while he was pleased that so many of his own team of candidates had succeeded and welcomed the contribution each could make to the council, from the city’s point of view it was a pity that Labour was so weak, as he believed in a strong opposition. “This makes for a livelier council,” he said. “Local body politics are good, clean, wholesome politics and a strong opposition can make a contribution and keep those in office on their mettle.”