THE MAYORALTY

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLI, Issue 20441, 11 June 1936, Page 8

THE MAYORALTY

IMR KERR WITHDRAWS BUSINESS INTERESTS A DISQUALIFICATION Mr C. E. Kerr anncunces his withdraw'al as a candidate for the Mayora.ty of Timaru. This course has been dictated by the requirements of the Local Authorities (Members’ Contracts) Act which disqualifies from election any shareholder in an incorporated company of less than 20 members if the value of the business done by that company with the Borough Council exceeds £25 in any financial year. Mr Kerr is a' shareholder in “The Timaru Herald” Company Limited, which comprises fewer than 20 shareholders and the Company’s business with the Timaru Borough Council exceeds the permitted maximum. This difficulty did not occur to Mr Kerr last Saturday morning when nominations for the Mayoralty were on the point of closing. He has seen and still is a member of several other local bodies to which the same statutory provision applies, but in the case of these other bodies, their business with the Company does not exceed the statutory maximum, so that Mr Kerr’s qualification to sit on these bodies is not affected by the provision which operates to disqualify him in connection with the Timaru Borough Council. As soon as the question of his eligibility occurred to him, Mr Kerr took legal advice and the Ardit Office in Wellington, which is charged with the duty of seeing that the statutory requirement is observ-'l, was consulted. As a result Mr Kerr was satisfied that the only course open to him was to withdraw from the contest. This necessity is a severe disappointment to him, as his only object in offering his services to the borough was to do whatever lay in his power to advance the interests of Timaru, but as a private citizen his efforts in this direction will be no less sincere and enthusiastic than they would have been if he had been honoured with the Chief Magistracy of the town. The Returning Officer (Mr A. E. S. Killick) said last night that he was not prepared to state exactly what procedure would be followed, but he would take the necessary legal statutory action to-day.