There won't be a by-election for the vacant position on Ripon City Council due to an error in collecting the required signatures to trigger one.
The parish council advertised a vacancy following the resignation of councillor Eamon Parkin earlier this summer.
Ripon resident Helen Mason came forward to propose a by-election, with the rules stating she needs the signatures of 10 people on the electoral roll in Ripon Ure Bank for it to be triggered.
She submitted the paperwork to North Yorkshire Council, which oversees parish council by-elections, in early June but was surprised to read public comments from council leader Andrew Williams that said nobody came forward and a person would be co-opted onto the council instead.
It then emerged that one of the ten signatures was from a resident not registered in the Ure Bank ward, meaning Ms Mason’s request was rejected.
During an email exchange with the council’s senior legal officer Barry Khan, Ms Mason criticised the council for not informing her of the error before the deadline.
Ms Mason said:
“If you had informed me in early June when NYC received my form that one of the residents was not on the electoral roll, then I could easily have found 10 more residents to sign another form and I would have asked all 10 if they were on the electoral roll.
“However, the total lack of communication from NYC means that I did not know that one of the 10 signatures wasn’t valid. Please advise me as to how to rectify this matter as a lot of local residents want a by-election.”
In a statement to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Mr Khan said it was “not the role” of the council to request additional electors if an error had been made.
Mr Khan said:
“We received signatures from only nine registered electors within the Ure Bank ward and the minimum needed to call a by-election is ten. One of those submitted to us was not a registered elector within the ward.
“It is the responsibility of those calling for an election to ensure they have the correct number of valid signatures.
“Ripon City Council was informed that insufficient requests were received to trigger a by-election after the deadline, and they can therefore fill the vacant seat by co-option.
"It is not the role of the proper officer, who is responsible for overseeing requests for elections, to request additional electors prior to the deadline for calling a by-election.”
Ripon City Council will meet this evening at Ripon Town Hall where councillors will discuss co-opting a new member.
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