Jacob Williams https://jacobwilliams.com

The list of possible runners in the vice-chairmanship race at next month’s county council AGM is drawing much speculation in the Kremlin on Cleddau.

For those unfamiliar with the process, full council elects a vice-chairman at every AGM, who, after serving a twelve-month apprenticeship, automatically becomes the chairman at the following year’s AGM without the possibility of a contest.

The current vice-chair is Narberth’s Cllr. Wynne Evans. At the upcoming AGM, on 15th May, Cllr. Evans will succeed the outgoing chairman, Cllr. Tom Richards, creating a vice-chair vacancy which will be filled by a secret ballot of councillors there and then.

This year’s vice-chair election has a special significance because, save for the intervention of nature, it’s the last time this council term that the winner can guarantee they’ll be in a position to assume their automatic chairmanship the following year.

The councillor elected vice-chair at the 2016 AGM will have to overcome the 2017 county council election if they’re to reach their destiny.

Failure to survive the public’s dalliance with the ballot box in 2017 – which is certainly not an unthinkable prospect – would deal the 2016 vice-chair’s ambitions a terminal blow, so one can perhaps understand why this year’s race is so hotly contested.

The honour has only ever been held by loyalists of the ruling independent party. Under the leadership of former council leader Maurice Hughes they even ran their own internal selection process by way of a postal ballot, following which the losers shook hands and united behind their chosen guy or gal for a certain victory at the AGM.

More often than not the ruling group’s official candidate stood as vice-chair on the agenda papers unopposed, but since the 2012 AGM – following the most recent council election – the IPPG’s official nominee has been contested by the opposition every time.

The first lamb to the slaughter during the current council term was Labour’s Cllr. Tom Tudor. Then in both 2013 and 2014 it was Cllr. Phil Baker, unaffiliated. Tom and Phil proved no match for IPPG stalwarts Cllrs. Arwyn Williams, Tom Richards and Wynne Evans respectively, but this year things could be a bit different.

The hot topic on the gossip front at County Hall right now is how the IPPG are clambering over each other to secure their party’s ‘official’ nomination. Some of us are even entertaining the possibility that the vice-chair ballot paper at this year’s AGM could contain multiple IPPG contenders.

When asked in the County Hall tea room whose names had been touted as potential vice-chair runners this morning, a senior ruling party figure said: “I think more group members have said they’d like to stand for it than those who haven’t!”

It’s high time a woman got her hands on the oak gavel, say some. Which has led to speculation that Solva’s Cllr. Lyn Jenkins may be considering her prospects in the popular vote.

None of the regular sources give Lyn a shred of hope, one even ranked her chances ‘somewhere between the old duffer’s and the young upstart’s!’ – so gamblers would do well to speculate elsewhere.

Ever since she unexpectedly stepped down as chair of the authority’s licensing committee last year, Monkton representative Cllr. Pearl Llewellyn’s made no attempt to hide her desire to become the county’s first lady.

Pearl the girl’s bid has been dubbed by the nerdier Kremlin politicos as somewhat of a slow-burning grassroots campaign than a brash ‘in-yer-face’ affair.

Following well-timed and candid revelations that she’ll step down at the next election, Pearl’s chairmanship – if she’s successful – will be seen by the traditionalists as a fitting bookend to a long county council service dating back to 1999.

Our girl Pearl’s county-wide appeal may have suffered a blow at last week’s extraordinary council meeting on north county secondary school reorganisation when she suggested – yes, out loud – that the south must come first.

Whether her refreshing brand of back yard diplomacy will hold her back from the IPPG’s official nomination remains to be seen, but she’s still one to watch, regardless.

Why? Because usually reliable sources say Pearl isn’t too bothered if she loses out in the official IPPG selection process, and intends to put her name forward for vice-chair come-what-may.

She’s even threatened many a time to leave the IPPG and says she has pre-signed group resignation papers on standby in her handbag. A handbag, which, following her resignation as licensing chair (SRA £9k) has been considerably lighter.

The more canny observers suggest that, if Pearl’s candidature goes up in smoke and she starts threatening to leave the IPPG again, then the person she stepped aside for as licensing committee chair – the party’s uber-sycophant Cllr. Daphne Bush – could be demoted to the cattle class carriage whence she came so Pearl can make her licensing chairmanship return.

It’s definitely the council chair she hankers over, not the licensing chair, but in some shape or form JW’s certain Pearl’s handbag will play its part.

Meanwhile, the longest declared candidacy of the lot belongs to the self-proclaimed “Voice of Johnston,” Cllr. Ken Rowlands.

After ditching the Labour party in 2008 (and then signing up to the ruling ‘independent’ party) Cllr. Rowlands found himself on the receiving end of a cabinet post, earning the retired deputy headmaster one of the authority’s juiciest special responsibility allowances going.

Ken’s long journey on the gravy train came to an abrupt end last autumn when his leader, Cllr. Jamie Adams, turfed him out of the first class carriage. Ever since, “The Voice of Johnston” has cut a lonely figure in the corridors of power, where, ironically, he finds himself a man without power for the first time in many a year.

Following his cabinet dismissal, a bitter Ken has lamented the fact that his talents aren’t being put to use to benefit the county – and what better use for those talents than keeping a chamber of sixty rowdy reps in order?

But it would seem “The Voice of Johnston” has a mountain to climb if he’s to realise his hopes of trading up to “The Voice of Pembrokeshire,” because Ken isn’t among the frontrunners by any stretch.

For months Ken’s been canvassing support from all quarters – ranging from gentle encounters with anyone who’ll listen to him in the tea room to straight-out-with-it telephone calls.

It seems I’m one of the only ones Ken hasn’t spoken to – I can’t think why – because other councillors have been recounting his efforts to canvass their support for ages. Ken may not have approached me for support, but he did hold a door open for me some weeks ago, so I don’t think he’s allowed his campaign to run into the buffers just yet.

A shock contender currently ‘considering’ a run – in his own words – is IPPG ultra-loyalist, Cllr. Mike James. If he does stand and wins, the member for St. Dogmaels will have to juggle many responsibilities as he’s also the current chairman of the national park authority.

Cllr. James will be seen as a safe pair of hands for the council’s leadership, who are said to be heavily supportive – indeed, key movers – of his candidacy. He’s got form when it comes to assuming the chair, so he may be a shoo-in yet again, but it remains to be seen if the rest of the council think Mike’s briefcase is already too overloaded.

As for an opposition candidate, there’s growing speculation that 2015 could be Cllr. Tony Brinsden’s year. Although it’s in its infancy – and is surrounded by questions of ‘will-he-won’t-he?’ – there’s an unmistakeable movement gathering apace behind the unaffiliated independent member for Amroth, who hasn’t actively been pursuing the role.

If Cllr. Brinsden can be persuaded to stand, the retired detective chief inspector could make a formidable contender, and as a recent past chair of the national park, the experience could stand him in good stead.

As the vice-chair is automatically elevated to chairman, the only thing we can say with absolute certainty is that the chairman coming out of next month’s AGM will be Cllr. Wynne Evans.

In the interests of openness and transparency, Cllr. Evans has made a pledge that he won’t attend his ruling group’s secret pre-meetings which regularly take place in the days ahead of full council meetings.

These gatherings can be lively affairs (see here also) where the issues coming up on the agendas are thrashed out behind closed doors and the party line is established privately, so as to avoid any public dissent or embarrassing spats among members in view of the webcam watched by the people they supposedly represent.

Cllr. Evans’ refusal to attend such tactical and partisan meetings is, of course, a welcome change. Better still, if Wynne really wants to be seen as completely impartial when presiding over council proceedings, he’d do well to follow the parliamentary custom by renouncing his IPPG membership and serving without affiliation to any group or party whatsoever.

Nominations for vice-chair have to be submitted ten clear days before the AGM, the list of candidates will subsequently be revealed upon the publication of the agenda, usually a week or so before the meeting.

Given the amount of clear interest in the role, it may not make much of a difference who wins or loses the IPPG’s ‘official’ nomination, but I’m told an IPPG get-together has been arranged next week for the party’s official vice-chair selection process.

As for the losers, observers would do well to remember that Jamie’s still got an unfilled cabinet post up his sleeve – a big mattress stuffed with enough to cushion even the heaviest of municipal setbacks. But only one of them!