TO the casual observer, the shenanigans at the first meeting of councillors appear to have settled down, however given the scale of upsets, we can expect more surprises and tension in the chamber. Many councils suffer from petty point scoring by councillors from time to time, so the problem is not unique to Ipswich.
The dynamic of an elected mayor who previously made two attempts to unseat the current member for Blair should also not be lost on voters.
People talk and take sides and sometimes decisions can be unduly clouded by outside influences.
Owing to the timing of the post-election meeting which did not resolve standing committees for the term, there’s a long break of six weeks between the first and second council meeting to be held on May 23.
In the meantime, there will be intense lobbying between councillors for the various committee chairperson positions. Don’t be surprised if there is also a re-jig of committee names and responsibilities.
Sport is always a popular portfolio. At least two councillors are rumoured to by vying for the chairperson position. The logical or best qualified may not get the numbers because of their voting pattern at the post-election meeting.
It is also feasible the mayor could end up with no committee chairperson roles should the same voting alliances continue to flex their muscles as seen in the chamber on April 11. There’s no doubt it is a tough gig being a public figure.
On another issue, there are rumours on social media that newly elected councillor David Cullen is about to step down.
Cullen reiterated to me that he is not about to resign from his councillor position after I put the rumours question to him last weekend. He added that he was not in council because he was looking for a job and was there for what he called “the right reasons”.
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