ALLIANCE has selected sitting Rowallane councillor Patrick Brown to defend his seat at the forthcoming local government election.
Cllr Brown made headlines at the last Newry, Mourne and Down Council election in 2014 when he sprung a major surprise by winning a seat for the party.
The Alliance man says he is “delighted and very excited” to kick off his campaign for re-election and believes the May 2 poll represents a “great opportunity” for the party to build on its growth across the district and for people to express their frustration with the “abject failure of our two main political parties in Northern Ireland by voting for a cross-community alternative”.
Cllr Brown continued: “Given that we are now without a functioning government for over 760 days with no resolution in sight, local government more than ever serves a vital role in leading the way on key issues.
“In particular, this is an opportunity for people to move away from the failed, zero-sum politics of division offered by the DUP, as Rowallane is the area where the DUP has performed strongest in previous council elections.”
Cllr Brown says he has “no doubt” that the DUP vote will decrease in the election, claiming many moderate unionists, “fed up with the DUP’s failure to govern and reckless, fantasy-land Brexit plans will look for a party which can actually deliver for everyone in Northern Ireland.”
The Alliance man believes it is also vital that the people of Rowallane have strong leadership in the old Down Council area. He suggested that over the last Newry, Mourne and Down Council term, the larger parties have been “complacent” in allowing power and resources within the organisation to drift to Newry and “abjectly failed to capitalise on the cost savings and economies of scale that merging two councils should have delivered”.
Cllr Brown says he intends to speak out against what he described as an “unnecessary £20m-plus spend” on a new Newry civic centre and continue to push for more council investment for key projects in the Rowallane area “building on my experience pushing for successful projects such as the now under construction Saintfield Community Centre”.
He said that since his election he had worked to be a voice for “progressive, liberal and cross-community politics” and to stand up for the issues and values that might have otherwise been ignored. He said he has not been afraid to stand up to the bigger parties in the process.
“This has included leading the way on council transparency through ensuring all meetings are audio recorded — despite DUP opposition — leading good relations by condemning the vandalism of Irish language signs and voting to change the divisive decision to name a play park in Newry after an active IRA member when the SDLP did not.”
Cllr Brown said he took the lead on social issues by proposing motions on equal marriage and abortion legislation reform, getting the council to endorse remaining in the EU — “which the DUP and UUP voted against” — as well as continuing to deliver on “day-to-day bread and butter issues”.
He added: “I would encourage everyone to get themselves registered for the upcoming election and remind them that they can now register online. They can also contact me if they need any help with postal/proxy votes or if they would like to help out with the Alliance Party campaign across the district.”
The names of the Alliance Party candidates to contest the other district electoral areas are due to be confirmed shortly.