I am glad that is over. I didn't realise quite how many people would be there between 250 and 300 the vast majority Spanish but about a dozen ex pats.
It was supposed to start at 9.0pm but due to their being a function on in the village we waited until that was over to give people a chance to get to the hall so 9.50pm!
The meeting was opened by the National Secretary of the Partido Andalucia and we (the candidates) all waited at the back of the room until we were called forward to the stage. Obviously we walked through the audience up to the stage and then gave a sentence or two of introduction, I nearly dried up. I have done public speaking before but then I knew my subject and the language! Anyway after all the candidates had been called up in reverse numerical order No 14 first down to No 1 Candido Trabalon our Mayor. He then made a short speech outlining what each candidate brought to the party. I did hear him outline how our neighbourhood watch scheme works, which was good.
After that speech everyone adjourned for drinks and a buffet. I went home and had a nice big whisky!
The next stage in the process is the presentation of the potential candidates to the electorate and I am to join the other 13 candidates in presenting myself to them tomorrow (Saturday) evening at 9.0pm opposite the Post Office in La Alfoquia.
Better polish up a Spanish phrase or two.
Well all parties have now declared their lists and we have been scrutinising the opposition lists.
This has made my party quite happy. It is apparent that at least two of our opposition parties have had to make their lists up by including people who are not even resident in the municipality. Our list does include some of the people held in highest regard in the Spanish community not only that but none of the other parties has even bothered to include a sample expat (like me) which hopefully will help us garner sufficient support to gain an overall majority.
We are an optimistic bunch and I have been really pleased with how well the party members have accepted me. I know I am not a politician but 25 years working the streets as a policeman gives me a reasonable grasp of what people are like and I like these people.
Yesterday (Wednesday) evening I was asked to attend at the Partido Andalucista offices for my photograph to be taken for inclusion in the parties publications. I now realise how old I am. I have not had a close up picture of my face taken for years and I don't like being reminded of my age!
Whilst I was there we then spent about two hours discussing our slogan for the pre-campaigning period and the narrative to be included in some other publications. It was quite a difficult task as a number of Spanish phrases did not lend themselves to easy translation to a comparable meaning but we got there.
Well today is an interesting one as all the political parties lists of candidates is to become public.
I will be intrigued to see if any of the other political parties contesting Zurgena have recruited an expat.
Hi, I am Jim Simpson a 58 year old retired Police Officer living in Almeria, Spain with my wife Sue.
In 2006 as a result of a series of burglaries we established a Neighbourhood Watch Scheme for the Zurgena area. This scheme now has in excess of 200 members. It has been a great success but it would not have been had it not been for the total support of the Town Hall. We almost immediately gained the appointment of a bi lingual full time member of staff at the Town Hall to assist expats and have subsequently gained a 400% increase in the Polizia Local.
As a result of my regular involvment at the Town Hall with the Mayor and others I was able to understand better the workings of Spain's politics, but was nonetheless, surprised when, on Monday 9th April ,the Mayor asked me if I would like to represent the expat community by joining his party to fight the next elections on the 27th May 2007. I asked for time to consider and research what that would entail but I agreed to give them an answer by lunchtime on the next day.
I contacted friends who I know connected to local politics in Spain and after a long discussion with my wife and considering all the options I agreed to join the Partido Andalucista P.A. I also took into account that the current mayor had been so very helpful to our community that I had no qualms about joining them.
The current council for Zurgena comprises 11 councillors 5 of whom are P.A.
Each political party that wishes to contest the elections has to submit a numbered list of 14 names, where 1 is the person the party hopes will be Mayor down to no 14 who is in effect 3rd travelling reserve. The elections are a form of proportional representation. If one party gains 50% of the vote then their first 7 names would become councillors. I attended a party meeting on Wednesday 18th April which was to decide the numbering of candidates and I was of course nervous and excited to discover where I would be in the list as it would determine whether I could possible have a voice on the council or not. It was avery democratic meeting where each party member could give his views and a concensus was agreed. I was delighted to discover that I was to be No 6 on the list thereby giving me a great opportunity to obtain a seat on the council.
I intend through this blog to detail the run up to and any details of the election for the Council in Zurgena.
