THE WEST HARBOUR MAYORALTY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23505, 20 May 1938, Page 6

THE WEST HARBOUR MAYORALTY

TO THE EDITOR Sir, —Mr Arthur Smith’s letter in your issue of the 18th instant does not warrant a reply at any length. His assertions as to my reasons for contesting the mayoralty are as misleading as they are definitely untrue—l am. etc. May 19. W. J. Bardsley. ro THE EDITOR Sir.—l would like to correct the statements in Mr Arthur Smith's letter in the Daily Times of the 18th inst. with regard to the reason why Mr Bardsley contested the mayoralty of West Harbour. Mr Bardsley was asked to contest the mayoralty by several residents who thought that his wide knowledge of public and financial affairs would be of great value to the council, and the borough in particular. I may state that Mr Bardsley did not want the job, and asked for time to consider. It was not until a few days before the nominations closed that he decided to stand, and his sole reason for doing so was to serve the borough as a whole, and not because of the reason expressed in Mr Smith’s narrative. Mr Smith takes an undue advantage of Mr Bardsley with respect to the footpath retort. The meeting, not Mr Bardsley, at first tried to get the Mayor to make some promise to renew the footpath, which through the railway excavations had for a long period slipped away As the meeting failed, Mr Bardsley, as chairman, took a hand, but the Mayor still “fenced.” Mr Bardsley drew his attention to the danger through elderly people and children being forced on the road, to which the Mayor loosely replied, “Perhaps forcing them on the road would make them keep a better look-out.” This reply not only annoyed the chairman, but the bulk of the audience too, and on the heat of the moment Mr Bardsley used the remarks attributed to him, but the Mayor fails to tell his readers that Mr Bardsley almost immediately apologised. It is very odd that a temporary footpath was constructed just prior to election day.—l am, etc., R. G. Buchanan, Chairman of Mr Bardsley’s Committee. St. Leonards, May 19,