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Wednesday 13 April 2011

Partido Popular Mayoress in Orihuela Municipality says; "ignore these type of people they are not worth bothering with".

Let me first explain that the Mayoress in question is Gill Reynolds, the wife of the Partido Popular appointed, but not elected, quasi-Mayor of Entre Naranjas, a suburb of the Orihuela Municipality, and not Monica Lorente the PP Mayor and leader of the Orihuela Town Council. However it was Ms. Lorente who made the appointment, without any ballot of the residents of Entre Naranjas, of John Reynolds as quasi-Mayor in the manner of a favour.
 
In my previous article about the political status of the Orihuela Costa Neighbourhood Watch I added a comment on the 5th April which read: 'There is an interesting letter in this weeks CoastRider paper asking the question about the political status of the OCNW from a diferent view point. http://www.coastrider.net/lifestyle/letters/11879-letters-to-the-editor '. The author was Edith Wood of La Florida in Orihuela Costa. The letter had also been published in the Round Town News the previous week.

The Editor of the Orihuela Costa Vc Facebook page posted an article entitled ‘Letter to the RTN’ which opened with the wording of a letter in reply to that of Edith Wood.

(I would have normally just put the link to the page and relevant quotes, but because, as you will have noted from my previous weblog article, comments that I and others made on the OCVc Facebook page that were uncomplimentary to the PP party were deleted, I believe there might be a possibility of the ‘letter to the RTN’ post and comments being deleted from the page at some point. So I believe it is necessary to duplicate it here for the circumstances to be fully appreciated.)

The opening post was:-
I WAS incensed to read such an attack in the letters last week, about the Orihuela Costa Neighborhood Watch and the volunteer leader Chris Poole.
I have been actively involved for more than the past eight years with many organisations in Torrevieja and OC and although less active now I can assure the concerned person that there are no political leanings by the OCNW or the leader.
Any registered NGO in Spain wishing to achieve their objectives need to co-operate alongside the Ayuntamiento and ruling party: it’s a two way partnership, especially as they control the purse strings and policies. If invited any leader would be proud to re-present his organisation as a way of communicating requirements and shortcomings.
Opposition parties and their supporters need to stir it up, but the NGOs avoid confrontation preferring a more subtle approach to achieve objectives.  
John Kadwell  Los Balcones   
Gill Reynolds posted the first comment to this:
what a disgusting thing to do, how dare they attack someone like Chris Poole who has done so much to help everyone regardless of nationality, religion or politics, Chris...ignore these type of people they are not worth bothering with.
On reading the initial entry I posted the comment:
It is interesting that the link is included to the wording of the letter by John Kadwell in the RTN newspaper in  reply to a letter criticising the political status of the OCNW but no link appears to be included to the original letter. Perhaps that is because it does not seem to be on the RTN website, so here is a link to the same letter in the CoastRider http://www.coastrider.net/lifestyle/letters/11879-letters-to-the-editor so everyone knows what was said. It is also interesting that in an email I received from JK today he said “Did check with Chris before writing”.
This I followed with a further posting:
Gill Reynolds:- The questions being asked about the OCNW are about its political status and its relationship with the PP political party.
Your comment is definitely thought provoking!
So in order for me to more fully understand the context of your comment; I am wondering are you making it as an individual, or as the Mayoress to your husband John the PP appointed, unelected, Mayor of Entre Naranjos. Appointed personally by Monica Lorente PP Mayor of Orihuela who, along with other PP party members, has been indicted for malpractice and corruption.
Perhaps you would care to define ‘these type of people’. Are they those that criticise the PP and anyone who has very close links to them? Are they those that criticise the OCNW? Am I one of those people as I asked questions in my article ‘Is Orihuela Costa Neighbourhood Watch  a Non-Non-Political Group?’ on my weblog about the political status of OCVC?
I was not expecting the venomous reply comment from Gill Reynolds:
"you just don't understand do you?? there are some good people in this world however you can't grasp the fact that not everyone is like you, something must have happened in your past life (if you ever had one) to make you so bitter and twisted, I was always raised by my parents to think that if I couldn't find something good to say about people, then say nothing. As for my husband being an unelected Mayor, how many times in the UK were you asked to vote for who you wanted to be your Mayor? why would you think it would be different in Spain?"
Having laughed at the baseness of her reply I responded with:
Gill Reynolds:- Thank you for taking the time to construct your well thoughtful, meaningful, constructive and polite reply, although you didn’t clarify the questions I raised, it does justice to yourself.
I take it from your reply then you think of me as one of “these type of people they are not worth bothering with” in your advice to Chris; except that you bothered to reply in your fashion.
This is getting off the subject of the political status of the OCNW  but I’ll pick up on the question of your husband being an unelected Mayor and your opinion that the same applies in the UK. The Parish Council Chairman, the Town Mayor, and the County Council Chairman, that is the leader of the different levels of governing councils are all elected to their positions by their peers, who are themselves elected Councillors having been chosen through the ballot box in local, town and county democratic elections. So yes my vote in local elections has counted towards the selection of Mayor. I’m not aware that your husband’s appointment was made on a similar basis. It was made as a favour by Monica Lorente.
Finally I would thank you for giving me the theme for a new article on my weblog.
Gill Reynolds made a further comment:
so in the UK the people elect who they want to represent them and they in turn choose a Mayor. In Spain the people elect who they want to represent them and they in turn choose a Mayor so your point is??? . My husband is one of 23 Mayors ELECTED by the town hall, how come he is the only one you target? perhaps because the Spanish wouldn't put up with your nonsense and your language skills are not sufficient. Anyway end of conversation as I will not have access to a computer for a while so no good replying.
My reply to her comment was:
Gill Reynolds: It is disappointing that you will not be able to read my reply but your absence is not sufficient reason for me not to reply as there are other readers of this Facebook page beside yourself.

The Mayor is the leader of the Town Council which is made up of Councillors who have been elected as a result of a local democratic election system. The so called ‘quasi-Mayors of the Pedanias within the Orihuela Municipality are usually members of the governing party, in this case the Partido Popular, who are personally appointed by the incumbent Mayor, Monica Lorente at this time, as a favour for work done for the party.  I am not aware that the Town Council Pleno or any subcommittees discussed or voted on the selection of the Pedania quasi-Mayors, so they weren’t elected. Please correct me if I am wrong on this by giving me a copy of the minutes of any meeting of the council which the vote was taken. Some of them may also be an elected Councillor but that is not a criteria to selection, neither is the requirement to have been on the party’s electoral list. It is an honoury appointment ‘without portfolio’.

I raised the question of your husband's appointment, and therefore yours as his quasi-Mayoress, as you have previously commented on this Facebook page “we have attended a lot of events, not all the photos are put on by John but as Mayor he should let people know what he is doing to promote Entre Naranjos”, in order to understand your initial comment on this article and the position you were coming from when making it. It is a pity you did not feel able to answer the original questions I put to you in my second comment on this article.

Your husband like all the Pedania quasi-Mayors were selected, by the PP party, not elected, by the citizens. I object to all the appointments of the quasi-Mayors as they are a result of nepotism by the governing party leadership and not through democracy.

I would like to suggest that any further comments on this theme would be better made on my weblog article. AdiĆ³s hasta entonces.
So what are the points that I’m making you may be asking.

Within the boundaries of the Orihuela Municipality there are hamets, suburbs and large urbanisations that are referred to as the Pedanias . In these the Mayor (Alcalde) of the Town Council will designate a headman (Mayor) to be the eyes, ears and voice of the government in the individual Pedania. The person nominated with this quasi-Mayor title is normally someone in the confidence or trust of the borough Mayor. It is normally given to a member of the governing political party of which the Town Council Mayor is leader. This would be someone who the leader of the party can trust to project the image of the party. It is a position ‘without portfolio’ as it carries with it no legal authority over the residents of the suburb. It is an appointment in which the residents were neither consulted or given the chance to vote on.

The urbanisation of Entre Naranjas, within the Orihuela Costa area of Orihuela, has such a quasi-Mayor, namely John Reynolds, with his wife by definition being the quasi-Mayoress. They are by default the Partido Popular party’s officially nominated representatives and spokespersons in their Pedania.

It was bearing this in mind that on reading Mrs Reynolds’ initial comment of “ignore these type of people they are not worth bothering with” that I sought to clarify two points. Firstly, if the view expressed was her personal view or that of the PP party whom she represents. Secondly what type of people were being referred to in her comment. Hence my second posting on the article where I asked the questions of her.

They were questions that required only a simple reply. Not the venomous attack against myself that she returned with. Is the quality of her response that which one would expect to receive from a governing political party representative? I think not!

Considering the fact that on the 22nd May 2011, only some 6 weeks away, the local council elections are to held, without doubt I think not!

Unless of course, if she was replying as the quasi-Mayoress, that it is the policy of the PP party to dismiss and not bother with “these type of people”, those who disagree with, or question, the party’s point of view and policies. And then if those same type of people ask probing questions then ignore the questions but reply with unsubstantiated personal attacks upon their character!

To the residents of the Orihuela Municipality, and in particular the residents of Orihuela Costa this would come as no shock really, because they have experienced this daily from the Partido Popular party for all the time it has been in government over the last 20 or more years. Its level of contempt towards the electorate, and degree of avoidance of answering questions knows no limits!

If the comments made by Gill Reynolds were her personal opinion, and possibly not that of the party, although I doubt it because the PP party will have educated her in their ways, then it raises the question in my mind as to her suitability for the position of quasi-Mayoress of Entre Naranjas.

I have also noted that despite being registered in his own right as a ‘Friend’ on the OCVc Facebook page, and therefore capable of adding a comment, quasi-Mayor John Reynolds has not made a comment to contradict anything I have said. It leads me to the assumption that he is in agreement with everything his wife, his quasi-Mayoress has said!

Which ever option is the reality it raises the question in my mind as to the quality of judgement of Monica Lorente, current leader of the PP, and her suitability as the future Mayor of Orihuela after the forthcoming elections. It was she who appointed the quasi-Mayor and consequent quasi-Mayoress to be the representatives of her party in Entre Naranjas and project the attitude, policy and opinions of the Partido Popular party to the citizens.

An attitude of “ignore these type of people they are not worth bothering with”, and an opinion that the correct way to answer polite and probing questions is to say "you just don't understand do you?? there are some good people in this world however you can't grasp the fact that not everyone is like you, something must have happened in your past life (if you ever had one) to make you so bitter and twisted”.

8 comments:

  1. If I were that person who had Ƥppointed", a so-called Mayjor in an urbanisation, and his wife then says...“ignore these type of people they are not worth bothering with”... I would have fired him and her ON THE SPOT!!!
    As this saying would have certainly hurt my reputation!!
    But then again I am NOT the person who appointed this guy,but LORENTE, and apparantly she doesn't care what her underlings are saying, as she herself is under investigation for fraud, corruption etc etc! So where is HER reputation???
    After 22nd May we will know if the PP is still in charge...my guess is NO!!! And then we also can say BYE BYE BYE to the appointed (or anointed) mayjor/mayjoress!!!
    Olaf

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  2. No matter which part of the world we live in, democracy should be a basic right of every living person. This should allow everyone the right to speak his or her opinion if spoken politely. In a European country, one would imagine that we have freedom of speech!

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  3. Why is it when certain people are taken to task for their unauthorised and undemocratic behaviour their only response is to offer personal criticism and spite?
    Spain still has some way to go to remove the appaling practices of the Franco regime, and one such of these practices is the appointment of people directly by a mayor without due democratic process. Call it favouritism, nepotism or just corrupt practice it can only make the appointee beholden to the person appointing them. Constant vigilance is the only way to cambat such behaviour irrespective of the mudslinging which follows. Keep up the good work.

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  4. I think this whole episode reveals how ignorant certain members of the ex pat community here in Spain really are. They move to a new country, live here for years and have no knowledge of the cultural, social and political history of the country they reside in. But worst of all they have no understanding of the democratic system they left behind. No wonder they get used by groups like the Partido Popular! Maybe the term " not very bright" springs to mind!

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  5. pedro manceboApril 16, 2011

    Hi Elliot, well, you are totally right in your article, and now you know this is the situation we have suffered now for 25 years in Orihuela. No question why Monica Lorente choses this type of people to represent the PP and -unfortunately- the Town Hall of Orihuela which is all of us. We were the only party that included in our electoral programme the proposal that every "pedaneo" or as you call them "quasi-mayor" is elected by the residents in the "pedania" (hamlet or suburb) directly as a person to represent them in front of the Council and not selected or appointed directly by the finger of the Mayor to represent him/her in front of the residents of the pedania (or should I say better against some residents who might contest the governing party?). Any way, in May 22nd this is going to come to an end as the PP will suffered the rejection of the voters and we will have a new approach to the local politics which will enable Orihuela (in its entirety) to grow in welfare and democracy. As our slogan says "Start believing..."

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  6. Elliot, I think we should start a series on your blog, entitled, "Dear John "". I will begin the first letter if that is ok with you?.

    Dear John,
    It is almost a year since you became our "all singing/all dancing" non-elected Mayor of Entre Naranjos. I remember at the time you said in your statements in the press that you were non-political and that your priority was to serve the people of the urbanisation. So why is it that now you claim you are a political person? (you say this in your letter in this week´s RTN)
    Have you had a kind of "Conversion" of the sort found in the Old Testament but of a political kind, or have you been telling a few fibs along the way to kind of fool us into thinking you are really doing all this out of the kindness of your heart.So which is it?
    I would love to know as having owned a property here on Entre Naranjos for many years, I have watched your career evolve from key-holder of properties and a small-time IT specialist,to a Mr Know-it-All who becomes PP unelected Mayor. What a rise in status for someone who is non-political. Anyway, I have enjoyed writing this to you, John.
    Best Wishes
    Bernard
    Entre Naranjos

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  7. Hi Elliot,
    I do not make personal comments on either John Reynolds or Gil Reynolds although I believe that are very misguided in their loyalty & defence of Monica Lorente & the current PP Ayuntamiento of Orihuela. In a democratic society we are entitled to our own views providing that these views are not harmful to others, further, if we voice our views we must be prepared for them to be challenged. It is sad that your views were countered with what I consider to be an abusive, illogical and personal verbal assault.
    I would also like to correct the post by Pedro..... CLR IS DEFINITELY NOT the only party that included "democratically elected representatives or pedaneos" in their 2007 electoral programme. This appeared in the 2007 PSOE programme and APPEARS AGAIN in the 2011 PSOE Orihuela Programme for Government.
    However, I do agree with Pedro that for this PP led Orihuela municipal council their days are numbered; May 23rd is a new dawn, a glorious day for democracy, where honesty will prevail & citizens will be valued.

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  8. PEDRO MANCEBOApril 25, 2011

    Hi Dee, I honestly appreciate the correction of my post made by you, I just can say thanks, as (the) truth only has one way and anyone can be wrong at some point.

    Im sorry if I wrongly said that CLR was the only party that included the "democratic election of pedaneos in each pedanĆ­a" but I probably misunderstood your electoral programme fopr 2007 and thought I was right after reading it. I have to say that surprisingly I have not found yet any mention to that issue in the 2007 PSOE programme (link attached below) so maybe you might clarify whether im right or wrong by pointing where it says so.

    http://issuu.com/orihuela/docs/programa_resumen_psoe_2007

    Nevertheless, Im very happy that the PSOE and you share my opinion (and CLR proposal) about the democratic election of the pedaneos. I did not have a doubt about your position in regards to this issue.

    I also have to say that maybe (in my discharge) I misunderstood the release made in April 2nd 2011 in the PSOE web page (also attached below) were you presented the list of pedaneos elected by the PSOE to represent the neighbours of the pedanias, you can also see the picture of these elected pedaneos next to Antonia. Im not sure whether they have been previously elected democratically or not, so maybe you could also clarify this point. Are they already elected by the PSOE as your web page article says or will they be elected democratically as you mention in your post?

    Pleas let me know for my own peace of mind as I might be wrong -as I said- or maybe you might have misunderstood your own web page... maybe because it is all in spanish, you know.


    http://www.psoeorihuela.es/

    EL PSOE PRESENTA SU EQUIPO EN LAS PEDANƍAS, LA COSTA Y LOS BARRIOS
    2 abril 2011

    El PSOE de Orihuela sigue trabajando en su precampaƱa electoral, y hoy ha presentado pĆŗblicamente a quienes representarĆ”n a los vecinos de los barrios y pedanĆ­as ante un futuro Gobierno Municipal encabezado por Antonia Moreno. Todos ellos se dieron cita en la sede de los socialistas oriolanos y se hicieron la foto de familia en los aledaƱos de la Plaza del Carmen, justo bajo la tradicional ‘Esquina del Pavo’, lugar que simboliza la AlcaldĆ­a de Orihuela, teniendo en cuenta que sobre Ć©ste se asienta el despacho de la Presidencia de la CorporaciĆ³n.

    Todos los rincones de Orihuela tendrĆ”n un representante ante un futuro Gobierno Socialista y Ć©stos han sido presentados hoy ante la opiniĆ³n pĆŗblica, desde Barbaroja a Torremendo, desde los Desamparados a la Murada. Cada una de las veintisiete partidas rurales tendrĆ”n una cara y un nombre como referente del equipo que encabeza la candidata Antonia Moreno.

    Desde el PSOE se hacĆ­a especial hincapiĆ© en que se han elegido personas para defender los intereses de sus vecinos frente al Ayuntamiento, “y no, como es habitual, los intereses del Ayuntamiento frente a los vecinos”.

    En la foto que agrupaba a la mayorĆ­a de estos representantes tambiĆ©n estaban los que lo harĆ”n en los barrios mĆ”s emblemĆ”ticos de la ciudad, la mayorĆ­a de ellos los mĆ”s prĆ³ximos al cinturĆ³n de la sierra, una zona que corre paralela al casco urbano y cuya recuperaciĆ³n, como es sabido, es uno de los principales empeƱos de los socialistas oriolanos.

    TambiƩn hubo espacio esta maƱana en la fachada del Palacio del MarquƩs de Arneva (sede del Ayuntamiento), para los representantes de Orihuela Costa. La candidatura del PSOE estƔ avalada en la zona del litoral por representantes de todas y cada una de las urbanizaciones que componen Orihuela Costa, que eran animados a seguir siendo los defensores de sus vecinos ante el Gobierno Municipal que encabece Moreno.

    A partir de ahora, cada uno de los representantes de los barrios, pedanĆ­as y costa, serĆ” el encargado principal de ponerse en contacto con los vecinos para elaborar un programa electoral en cada una de las zonas que representa. Programas que serĆ”n presentados en las prĆ³ximas semanas y serĆ”n incluidos en la declaraciĆ³n de Gobierno del PSOE oriolano ante las elecciones del prĆ³ximo veintidĆ³s de mayo.

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