GREY COUNTY COUNCIL

Greymouth Evening Star, 18 July 1939, Page 2

GREY COUNTY COUNCIL

MR. HANNAN A CANDIDATE.

RESIGNATION RECONSIDERED.

Consequent upon the presentation to him this afternoon of a petition signed by 240 Of the 250 electors in the Paroa riding of the Grey County Council, Mr. J. W. Hannan, who recently resigned his seat on the Council as Paroa riding representative, agreed to reconsider his decision, and signed a nomination paper for the forthcoming extraordinary election to fill the vacancy.

The petition, which was sponsored by Miss E. Spencer and Mi - . R. Walsh, was presented by a deputation of sixratepayers, who waited upon Mr. Hannan at his office. The deputation comprised Miss Spencer, Miss McGrath, Mesdames Stent and Delaney, and Messrs. R. Walsh; T. E. Coates and M. J. Fogarty. The Chairman of the Council (Mr. John Ryall.) was also present. Mr. Coates said that a wave of amazement and regret swept through the whole of the electorate when they heard that Mr. Hannan had offered his resignation as a member of the Council. When he (Mr. Coates) told him. that he had in his hand a petition signed by 240 voters out of 250 in the riding asking him to reconsider his decision, he (Mr. Coates) hoped that Mr. Hannan would, in the fact of it, reconsider his resignation. As a ratepayer he felt that it would be a serious loss to the district if Mr. Hannan were to resign from the Council. There were a lot of people who were proud of the Grey County Council, and for the many years that Mr. Hannan had been a member, the administration had been Al. Mr. Hannan had given many years of good service, and had been able to . keep the rates very reasonable, particularly in face of the amount of work done in the County. The ratepayers felt that if Mr. Hannan made up his mind to leave them, it would have a serious effect on their pockets. They knew that he was a busy man and that it was asking a sacrifice, but. they hoped that he would continue to give them the benefit of his great experience. It was not only a ridingaffair, continued Mr. Coates, and he had had requests from three of the largest landholders in the Kopara district, and from three in Totara Flat, asking that every effort be made to have Mr. Hannan reconsider his decision. Fie felt that, in face of the unanimous requests, Mr. Hannan might find it possible to reconsider his resignation.

Mr, R. Walsh said that he wished to endorse’ Mr. Coates’s remarks. The constituents of the Paroa riding were greatly concerned about Mr. Hannan’s resignation, and as one of the persons who had gone round with the petition. he could assure Mr. Hannan that everyone had willingly signed it. Miss Spencer said that the desire to sign the petition was unanimous and if there had been time available she- could have got even more signatiues. On behalf of the ratepayers, she wished to tell Mr. Hannan how much his work was appreciated. He bad never tried to reduce wages, and she could not possibly put into words what she would like to say.

MR. HANNAN’S REPLY.

Mr. Hannan, in reply, said that he was afraid that he was never cut out to be a politician, and he could not thank the deputation as nicely as Mr. Coates had presented the petition. It was certainly flattering to receive a testimonial such as the petition, and it gave the impression that the majority of the ratepayers were satisfied that he had done his best as a Councillor. The question of his resignation was not just arrived at on the spur of the moment. Old age was advancing, and membership of the Council often involved more than 40 hours a week. About twelve months ago he had decided that he was going to take things easier, but he was persuaded by Councillors and the staff not to resign. One thing the Council was fortunate in was its staff. He had also begun to feel that he did not have the confidence of the whole of the ratepayers with the changing nature of the Paroa riding, which was really becoming a surburban. area of Greymouth. The Council had had applications which it had had to treat as county administration and not borough, arid they had had to be turned down. The question of his resignation, to a certain extent, was tied up with the extraordinary vacancy in the Marsden riding, caused through the resignation of Mr. Ogilvie some time ago. He (Mr. Hannan) had then expressed the opinion that there should be some reorganisation of the ridings, as in Marsden there were not more than 40 votes and it seemed ridiculous to go to the expense of an extraordinary election; also, there had been some talk of the amalgamation of local bodies, and the Council, at his suggestion, had decided to do nothing in regard to Marsden in the meantime. However, as there was no fui tb.er mention of amalgamation, with the commencement of the Parliamentary session, it looked as if the Council could no longer postpone the Marsden election, and as two elections cost little more than one, he thought that the time was opportune quietly to put in his resignation, thinking that he would be allowed to retire in peace. The petition, he noticed, requested the withdrawal of his resignation, but there was no power to do that, as the vacancy had been created and the election had to be held. He could not say any more than, under the circumstances, he could not refuse to reconsider his resignation. Several members of the deputation produced nomination papers, and one was signed by Mr. Hannan and his nominees, being deposited at o’clock at the County office. Mr. Ryall said that, as a member of the Council, lie was pleased to have. Mr. Hannan reconsider his resignation. He complimented the ratepayers of the riding and the members of the deputation on the graceful action they had taken and on the great compliment that they had paid to Mr. Mannan.

The wording of the petition presented. was as follows: "We, the undersigned ratepayers of the Paroa Riding, sincerely regret your resignation as our representative on the County Council. Your untiring efforts on our behalf have always been appreciated by us and we feel that it will be impossible for anyone to replace you as our reprsentaiive. It is, therefore, our wish that you reconsider your decision and again ac.cepT nomination on our behalf."