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New councillor co-opted onto Ripon council

Thursday, 29 August 2024 07:09

By Thomas Barrett, Local Democracy Reporter

Gary Camplejohn has taken up the vacant Ure Bank ward position. (Image: LDRS)

A new councillor has been co-opted onto Ripon City Council.

Gary Camplejohn has taken up the vacant Ure Bank ward position following the resignation of Eamon Parkin earlier this year.

Mr Camplejohn is a Ripon resident and according to his LinkedIn profile works for renewable energy firm Harmony Energy.

He is also involved with Ripon City AFC and is the club’s treasurer.

Ripon City Council is a parish council and has limited powers when compared with North Yorkshire Council.

A by-election was not called after the resident who proposed one failed to get 10 signatures from people on the local electoral roll.

Instead, Ripon City Council invited CVs from residents who wanted to be a councillor and they picked the best of four candidates at a meeting on Thursday night.

However, Cllr Pauline McHardy refused to take part as she wanted to interview the candidates in person.

Cllr McHardy said:

“You can’t just go by a CV, there are other things you may want to ask. It’s wholly irresponsible to do so without seeing a candidate. You don’t just hire someone for a job off the CV, you meet them first.”

In response, council leader Andrew Williams compared the process to a normal election where voters don’t interview each candidate.

He said:

“Most members of the public have to cast a vote without meeting candidates. For many people in the recent mayoral election, all they got was a leaflet.”

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service after the meeting, Cllr Williams said he believes Mr Camplejohn has the qualities to make a good councillor.

He said: “He’s someone who has given military service, has children growing up in Ripon and is heavily involved in Ripon football club. He ticks all the boxes to help Ripon move forward.”

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