Sinn Fein has unveiled 21 candidates for next year’s local elections which will take place ahead the formation of the so-called “super council.”
The Review of Public Administration (RPA) will see the number of councils in the North reduced from 26 to 11 by 2015. As a result, the number of elected representatives will be reduced from 583 to 462.
The Derry City and Strabane Councils will be merged in a process which begins with next year’s elections to a “shadow” council that will work with the current councils to oversee the transition of the merger.
The shake-up will see 40 seats available between Derry and Strabane and Sinn Fein are hopeful of filling 18 of them.
At present, the two councils between them have eight District Electoral Areas (DEAs) that return 46 elected representatives, 18 of which are Sinn Féin councillors.
Under RPA the new “super council,” which will stretch from Culmore to Sion Mills, will be reduced to only seven DEAs returning 40 elected representatives.
The Sinn Fein candidates from Derry and Strabane were selected at a party convention held in the party’s offices on Bligh’s Lane, Creggan. It was the first time candidates from both councils were selected at the same time.
Also at the convention Waterside woman was co-opted on to Derry City Council to replace long serving Lynn Fleming who has stood down.
It was also confirmed sitting MEP Martina Anderson would once again seek election to the European Parliament.
The make-up of the new District Electoral Areas and Sinn Fein candidates are:
In the new Faughan DEA, which will change from a seven seater to a five seater, sitting Cllr Paul Fleming has been re-selected by the Barney McFadden Cumman and is joined by former Sinn Féin youth member Mickey McCrossan, a community activist from the Waterside area who is currently a university student and active charity worker.
The new Waterside DEA will remain a seven seater but it will grow geographically and sees sitting councillor Bridget Meehan, who has replaced Lynn Fleming, joined by local Top of the Hill resident, Republican and community activist Christopher Jackson.
One of the areas that will see the biggest geographical changes and changes to the number of elected representatives returned is the new Sperrin DEA, this area is an amalgamation of two DEAs which combined would have returned 12 councillors, under RPA Sperrin will only be a sevensSeater a drop of five seats. Sitting Councillors Brian McMahon, Karina Carlin and Dan Kelly have been reselected by their Strabane comrades and they will be joined by emerging by the youngest candidate, 21 year old Diarmuid Ward, a university student and party activist from the Craigbane area.
The new Derg DEA will be a seater and sitting councillors Ruairi McHugh, Maoliosa McHugh and Kieran McGuire have once again been selected to contest the seats in this area.
The new Rosemount DEA made up mostly of the old Cityside and some of the old Northlands area will remain a five seater and the three sitting councillors Patricia Logue, Kevin Campbell and Colly Kelly will be joined by Derry Sinn Fein vice-chairperson and trade union activist Liam Friel.
The old Northland DEA will now be known as Foyleside and will be smaller geographically and in the number of seats returned. Instead of returning seven councillors, Foyleside will return seats with sitting councillors Eric Mc Ginley, Barney O’Hagan and Mickey Cooper contesting these seats.
The new Ballyarnett DEA, previously known as Shantallow DEA, will change not only in name but will increase from being a five eater to being a six seater and sitting Cllrs Tony Hassan and Elisha Mc Callion have been selected to contest these seats and will be joined by the chairperson of the local cumann Sandra Duffy.
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