Row over ‘lowest council tax’ claim (From York Press)

Galloway making misleading claims, never!!
When did that lot ever tell it like it is?

Cllr Alexander ... wrong

The council does not set the police fire or parish levels. How can you judge the council on how much the police charges?

Accusing the council of being misleading while trying to suggest Leeds pay less because the council tax is higher but the police charge is lower is actually being misleading.

THE SIMPLE FACT IS YORK COUNCIL CHARGES LESS TO RESIDENTS THAN ANY COUNCIL IN YORKSHIRE

The truth of the matter is that we pay too much Council Tax, who pays the most or less is a nonsense.Much of that is down to the Labour Government who created non-jobs in the late nineties to force down unemployment.

Dear voiceoreason / Lib Dem Councillor Nigel Ayre, Executive member for the Barbican,

What is wrong is to claim people pay the least in Council Tax in Yorkshire when this is simply not true. Your leaflet made no mention of any small print regarding police and fire charges etc. If you tell people they have the lowest Council Tax in Yorkshire and this is not true, then this is misleading. I gave your Council Leader an opportunity to clarify this situation at the budget Council meeting and he did not answer the point I made.

I am also not accusing the Council of misleading as the figures the Council gave me show that residents in Bradford, Leeds, Wakefield and Doncaster pay less than residents in York. I am accusing your local party who distribute material that is misleading.

I suggest you try and sort out the Barbican mate and use your real name on her in future.

All the best,

Councillor James Alexander
Labour Councillor for Holgate Ward

James Alexander wrote:
Dear voiceoreason / Lib Dem Councillor Nigel Ayre, Executive member for the Barbican, What is wrong is to claim people pay the least in Council Tax in Yorkshire when this is simply not true. Your leaflet made no mention of any small print regarding police and fire charges etc. If you tell people they have the lowest Council Tax in Yorkshire and this is not true, then this is misleading. I gave your Council Leader an opportunity to clarify this situation at the budget Council meeting and he did not answer the point I made. I am also not accusing the Council of misleading as the figures the Council gave me show that residents in Bradford, Leeds, Wakefield and Doncaster pay less than residents in York. I am accusing your local party who distribute material that is misleading. I suggest you try and sort out the Barbican mate and use your real name on her in future. All the best, Councillor James Alexander Labour Councillor for Holgate Ward

Well said James, the Lib Dems would use any cover to deceive this city.

Why doesn't The Press print a full list of Council Tax which will be payable from 1st April (all Councils have set their rate now). Tell us the amount to be paid for local government services and, separately, the precepts for Fire and Police.
Local elected Councillors are responsible only for the former.
As far as the Police Authority is concerned, York only has 2 Councillor representatives on the 16 person committee which sets the police Council Tax level.

James Alexander wrote:
Dear voiceoreason / Lib Dem Councillor Nigel Ayre, Executive member for the Barbican,

What is wrong is to claim people pay the least in Council Tax in Yorkshire when this is simply not true. Your leaflet made no mention of any small print regarding police and fire charges etc. If you tell people they have the lowest Council Tax in Yorkshire and this is not true, then this is misleading. I gave your Council Leader an opportunity to clarify this situation at the budget Council meeting and he did not answer the point I made.

I am also not accusing the Council of misleading as the figures the Council gave me show that residents in Bradford, Leeds, Wakefield and Doncaster pay less than residents in York. I am accusing your local party who distribute material that is misleading.

I suggest you try and sort out the Barbican mate and use your real name on her in future.

All the best,

Councillor James Alexander
Labour Councillor for Holgate Ward

Well done Councillor Alexander for outing another Politician not using his real name for this forum. Mr Ayre should be ashamed of himself for being so deceptive. I'm not a big fan of your politics James, but I applaud you for your morals.

With regard to the issue at hand, I appreciate that the council do not set the police and Fire precepts, but many councillors sit on the Police authority and they do influence it's decisions.

Ultimately us the Public pay our council tax. It matters little to us how much is cleaved off for the Local Authority, Police etc. we simply pay the bottom line whether we like it or not. So it may not be deceptive on the part of the Lib Dems, but it is incredibly disingenuous to make the claims they have. But then I din't trust them before so it has hardly changed my opinion, just reinforced it.

10 years ago, when Labour were the largest Group on the Council, they issued a leaflet claiming to be the lowest Council Tax in North Yorkshire (true at the time). They didn't include the Police precept nor does the central (Labour) Government web sites which compare the performance of individual Councils.
The Press have the list of Council Tax levels to be paid throughout Yorkshire but they choose not to publish it. No doubt seeking to spare Cllr Alexanders blushes (he does spend a lot of time jumping on whatever bandwagon the media happen to be pushing from one month to the enxt).

James Alexander wrote:
Dear voiceoreason / Lib Dem Councillor Nigel Ayre, Executive member for the Barbican, What is wrong is to claim people pay the least in Council Tax in Yorkshire when this is simply not true. Your leaflet made no mention of any small print regarding police and fire charges etc. If you tell people they have the lowest Council Tax in Yorkshire and this is not true, then this is misleading. I gave your Council Leader an opportunity to clarify this situation at the budget Council meeting and he did not answer the point I made. I am also not accusing the Council of misleading as the figures the Council gave me show that residents in Bradford, Leeds, Wakefield and Doncaster pay less than residents in York. I am accusing your local party who distribute material that is misleading. I suggest you try and sort out the Barbican mate and use your real name on her in future. All the best, Councillor James Alexander Labour Councillor for Holgate Ward

Go James, go!!!!

I will keep repeating myself on this - whether or not you like the views of James Alexander, he has the bottle to post under his real name and put his money where his mouth is. The Lib Dums NEVER post under their real names and it's about time that they stopped using this site to spout party political propaganda from a "Joe Public" point of view.

And as for the leaflet ................... as an intelligent (hopefully!) member of Joe Public, if I read a leaflet saying we have the cheapest council tax in Yorkshire, I expect my monthly payments to be cheaper than anywhere else in Yorkshire and I am sure that most other people would interpret the leaflet in the same way. To say they are only referring to their part of the charge, and not the Police, Fire Service etc is like Easyjet and Ryanair saying you can fly to Europe from this country for £1 return inclusive of taxes!!

Yep agree , makes you wonder how many other councillors are posting under other names for propaganda.
well done James for being visible.

James, how do you know it is Cllr Ayre?

why did I get dragged in to this? James if you will have spats with people on here at least let me know so I can join in!

Dear keepitshut,

There have been a number of comments on this site in the past which indicate council committee membership or attendance at a particular meeting. I worked out last year that if you piece together who was at all of those meetings it can only be him or myself and it isn’t me.

He also commented on this story on my facebook wall this morning with a 1min time difference to his comment on this site.

I see Nigel is on here properly now. Welcome Nigel! Nigel is an alright guy though and I am not having a go at him too much, we just don’t see eye to eye politically. I am glad you have taken off the cloak Nigel!

I also think LibDem is Councillor Steve Galloway based on some previous comments on transport figures. The local Lib Dems not only do this on this site but also field members to speak at council meetings as members of the public to praise council policy. I worked out who one such member was at a recent executive meeting I attended. I assume he will be one of their candidates to be a councillor next year.

Councillor James Alexander
Labour Councillor for Holgate Ward

Well done Mr Alexander!It is the underhand ways of deceiving the electorate that i do not like about this council--blaming us for closures that they have made,unpopular decisions they have taken and,in this case,manipulating the statistics to deceive us.It was Bertolt Brecht who said it was easier for politicians to vote an electorate out of existence than for an electorate to vote them into office--this is exactly what our lot seem to be trying to find a way to do.Thing is though,they should never underestimate the intelligence of even the "thickest"apathetic non-voter--we can usually see straight through you for the nasty little careerists that you are.And not coming clean about your identity when you are an elected official is like being the slimeiest of foul frogs spouting bile from under the largest of stones.This current administration is an utter sham.

Nigel Ayre wrote:
why did I get dragged in to this? James if you will have spats with people on here at least let me know so I can join in!

To quote Harry Hill there's only one way to settle this FIGHT!

What does it matter really??? Factually the leaflet was correct, York is the lowest for council tax..... though why the expense of a leaflet for this was necessary I don't know!

The fact of the matter is that no matter how much banter happens on here or anywhere else, we're still going to have to pay council tax, income tax, road tax etc.... this whole article is totally pointless, as is James Alexander.

PS, James, I would have though that even if Voice of Reason is Nigel Ayre he has a right to his anonyminity, as does ever user of this forum, ousting someone is bang out of order!

I don't wear cloaks a little bit 18th Century.

Accusing me of being a politician?

I have never been so insulted!

I would like to join in this Harry Hill style fight to defend my honour. Cllr Ayre would you like to go first or second?

Silver wrote:

Nigel Ayre wrote:
why did I get dragged in to this? James if you will have spats with people on here at least let me know so I can join in!

To quote Harry Hill there's only one way to settle this FIGHT!

I'm not sure this is something the council tax payers of York would want to see?

Who got my comment removed for saying Ayre was a clown?
'
Even my correction got removed!
'
some of you really need to get a backbone

Nigel Ayre wrote:

Silver wrote:

Nigel Ayre wrote: why did I get dragged in to this? James if you will have spats with people on here at least let me know so I can join in!

To quote Harry Hill there's only one way to settle this FIGHT!

I'm not sure this is something the council tax payers of York would want to see?

WRONG!

James Alexander wrote:
Dear keepitshut, There have been a number of comments on this site in the past which indicate council committee membership or attendance at a particular meeting. I worked out last year that if you piece together who was at all of those meetings it can only be him or myself and it isn’t me. He also commented on this story on my facebook wall this morning with a 1min time difference to his comment on this site. I see Nigel is on here properly now. Welcome Nigel! Nigel is an alright guy though and I am not having a go at him too much, we just don’t see eye to eye politically. I am glad you have taken off the cloak Nigel! I also think LibDem is Councillor Steve Galloway based on some previous comments on transport figures. The local Lib Dems not only do this on this site but also field members to speak at council meetings as members of the public to praise council policy. I worked out who one such member was at a recent executive meeting I attended. I assume he will be one of their candidates to be a councillor next year. Councillor James Alexander Labour Councillor for Holgate Ward

Although I agree with the openness James is expressing and agree with the logic, it could be a bad move to guess who so and so is on this site. As you councillors have to work together to do your best for us. Ok we're rather critical of your work but wouldn't it be better for you to disagree rather less publically then this? Just thinking of the embarassment to the office this could one day incur

Ill just restate that recently Voiceoreason had a rather embarrassing spat with Garrowby Turnoff on the comments boards when the press last posted a story about council tax.
'
Search on the site for 'York's council tax rise is set at 2.7 per cent' and have a look. Real playground stuff.

Nigel Ayre wrote:

Silver wrote:

Nigel Ayre wrote: why did I get dragged in to this? James if you will have spats with people on here at least let me know so I can join in!

To quote Harry Hill there's only one way to settle this FIGHT!

I'm not sure this is something the council tax payers of York would want to see?

Yes we would, James v Galloway in a cage match.

Dear Henry Swanson,

The point is the leaflet was not correct. It said lowest Council Tax in Yorkshire and had no mention of police and fire costs. It is misleading and this is wrong.

I think it is wrong to be paid by the public purse and then defend your views or position under a pseudonym as if you are a member of the public backing up your own view. This is also misleading. It portrays a lack of belief and confidence in your own opinion. People can disagree with me if they wish, they can even as you said believe I am pointless, but at least I defend my position openly because I believe what I say. I get paid from the public purse and people who elect me have a right to know what my opinion is and what I am doing on their behalf. I therefore don’t believe politicians should have anonymity on this board.

Dear Silver,

I can work with Nigel but we don’t appear to be on any committees together anymore, apart from the full Council meetings.

And Nigel, did you swap hats when you were logging in and logging out of this website just now? Anyway I couldn’t fight you Nige. I am a lover not a fighter…

Councillor James Alexander
Labour Councillor for Holgate Ward

James Alexander wrote:
Dear Henry Swanson, The point is the leaflet was not correct. It said lowest Council Tax in Yorkshire and had no mention of police and fire costs. It is misleading and this is wrong. I think it is wrong to be paid by the public purse and then defend your views or position under a pseudonym as if you are a member of the public backing up your own view. This is also misleading. It portrays a lack of belief and confidence in your own opinion. People can disagree with me if they wish, they can even as you said believe I am pointless, but at least I defend my position openly because I believe what I say. I get paid from the public purse and people who elect me have a right to know what my opinion is and what I am doing on their behalf. I therefore don’t believe politicians should have anonymity on this board. Dear Silver, I can work with Nigel but we don’t appear to be on any committees together anymore, apart from the full Council meetings. And Nigel, did you swap hats when you were logging in and logging out of this website just now? Anyway I couldn’t fight you Nige. I am a lover not a fighter… Councillor James Alexander Labour Councillor for Holgate Ward

Speaking personally here, shouldn't you both be commenting on the valuation of business rates for small businesses at the moment? As whilst it's a misleading figure, and I'll grant you that don't you both have a better issue to comment on first? It's what I'd expect from my elected officials that they read that story perhaps comment on what could be done to help out our small businesses or at least defend those fees.

Dear Silver,

I was not aware of the changes in business rates but if it is harming business and an economic recovery, then there should be a review of the rates.

Councillor James Alexander
Labour Councillor for Holgate Ward

James Alexander wrote:
Dear voiceoreason / Lib Dem Councillor Nigel Ayre, Executive member for the Barbican, What is wrong is to claim people pay the least in Council Tax in Yorkshire when this is simply not true. Your leaflet made no mention of any small print regarding police and fire charges etc. If you tell people they have the lowest Council Tax in Yorkshire and this is not true, then this is misleading. I gave your Council Leader an opportunity to clarify this situation at the budget Council meeting and he did not answer the point I made. I am also not accusing the Council of misleading as the figures the Council gave me show that residents in Bradford, Leeds, Wakefield and Doncaster pay less than residents in York. I am accusing your local party who distribute material that is misleading. I suggest you try and sort out the Barbican mate and use your real name on her in future. All the best, Councillor James Alexander Labour Councillor for Holgate Ward

Well said Mr. Alexander! You argue well against the LibDims.
As for the LibDims leaflets sent to homes in York Outer constituency: lies and rubbish from Mrs Kirk as usual.
Why does she not think before speaks or prints inaccurate/misleadin
g twaddle.

I've no problem with Councillors posting under their own names, but I take exception to the way they they were trying push their opinions anonymously. Not that I'm surprised - Based on comments 'she' has made about the Barbican I've long believed that "Gailforcewins" is really Vassie.

Lowest Council Tax, lowest water rates, lowest crime rate-you need to have the lowest intelligence to beleive these stats. Come on Evening press-get some investigative reporting done and find out where all our council tax millions have really gone and why we could not afford a freeze or even a cut this year.

Kiff wrote:
I've no problem with Councillors posting under their own names, but I take exception to the way they they were trying push their opinions anonymously. Not that I'm surprised - Based on comments 'she' has made about the Barbican I've long believed that "Gailforcewins" is really Vassie.

oh yes, your not the only one i thought that also. Especially when they started singing the virtues of vassie. And when you think of the judges comments which decribed Vassie as 'Unpleasant and Patronising' you could easily apply this to gails postings.

AdmiralNN wrote:
Who got my comment removed for saying Ayre was a clown? ' Even my correction got removed! ' some of you really need to get a backbone

Unfortunately, you were clearly being offensive to clowns!! There is no consistency with the moderation on this site - I have lost count of the amount of times that I have been moderated off for referring to Galloway as a "muppet" or "Wally Waller" - hardly cutting and hurtful comments but clearly offensive to someone! Oooops, there I go again - wonder how long this posting will last!

As an aside - once again respect to James Alexander for taking us posters head on, without hiding behind a cloak of anonymity. Keep up the good work in ousting other politicians on this site!

A message for Henry Swanson - the bulk of people that post on this site are members of "Joe Public", with nothing to gain apart from the ability to vent or rant on a particular story or comment. Politicians that pretend to be Joe Public and who try to manipulate the people who read these comments are, in my view, guilty of deception. I find myself asking why they feel the need to hide behind the cloak of anonymity, especially when they begin spouting facts and figures at us that only the politicians would have access to - is it because they are maybe ashamed or embarrassed at some of the things they do or say? At least Mr Alexander stands up and is counted on the comments he makes.

The aforementioned Mrs Kirk must have an overflowing financial war chest to fight her corner with, arrived home from work last night to find a leaflet adressed to me, same leaflet adressed to the wife and then another same leaflet adressed to both of us, very green, very well thought out, complete and utter waste of resources, hope she doesn't get in, they all went in the recycling bin.

AngryandFrustrated wrote:

AdmiralNN wrote: Who got my comment removed for saying Ayre was a clown? ' Even my correction got removed! ' some of you really need to get a backbone

Unfortunately, you were clearly being offensive to clowns!! There is no consistency with the moderation on this site - I have lost count of the amount of times that I have been moderated off for referring to Galloway as a "muppet" or "Wally Waller" - hardly cutting and hurtful comments but clearly offensive to someone! Oooops, there I go again - wonder how long this posting will last! As an aside - once again respect to James Alexander for taking us posters head on, without hiding behind a cloak of anonymity. Keep up the good work in ousting other politicians on this site! A message for Henry Swanson - the bulk of people that post on this site are members of "Joe Public", with nothing to gain apart from the ability to vent or rant on a particular story or comment. Politicians that pretend to be Joe Public and who try to manipulate the people who read these comments are, in my view, guilty of deception. I find myself asking why they feel the need to hide behind the cloak of anonymity, especially when they begin spouting facts and figures at us that only the politicians would have access to - is it because they are maybe ashamed or embarrassed at some of the things they do or say? At least Mr Alexander stands up and is counted on the comments he makes.

But as well as being a councilor they are also members of the public are they not, and as such they may not always agree with what their party stands for or does, they should retain the right to publish anonymously if they so wish.....

Dear Henry Swanson,

I disagree. You shouldn’t be in public office being paid by the public purse if you are unwilling to stand up for your views openly.

Councillor James Alexander
Labour Councillor for Holgate Ward

Sorry Henry but i don't agree with you:
.
1) The politicians have have a vested interest in trying turn public opinion in their favour. We do not.
2) They already have forums to voice their opinions. We do not.
3) If they don't agree with their party on key points of policy then why are they representing that party, and why are they asking *US* to vote for them under that banner. If they are not key policy points then discretion is best.
.
What this thread has shown is that all of the Lib Dem apologists we see in these pages are really the Lib Dem politicians trying (and often failing) to justify their actions. By hiding their identity they've been trying to give the illusion that the public agrees with them. We do not.
.
I'm not a Labour supported, but James Alexander has to be congratulated for standing out on this.

Am I the only one who finds Mr Alexander a little creepy? Putting himself up as a champion of the people, espousing populist ideas, bickering on public forums and courting York Press like he owes them a favour. 'Unveiling' councillors on here? To be frank, I am no more suspicious of commenters like 'voiceofreason' than I am of the comments that quickly follow any post by Mr Alexander, saying how wonderful and refreshing he is.
Ultimately, anyone that listens to any particular councillor on which councillors to trust, is probably not fit to vote.

voiceoreason wrote:
Cllr Alexander ... wrong The council does not set the police fire or parish levels. How can you judge the council on how much the police charges? Accusing the council of being misleading while trying to suggest Leeds pay less because the council tax is higher but the police charge is lower is actually being misleading. THE SIMPLE FACT IS YORK COUNCIL CHARGES LESS TO RESIDENTS THAN ANY COUNCIL IN YORKSHIRE

How's the worm tasting today voiceoreason?
BTW. You've got crow for afters.

Heehee!

After years of the libdems claiming that York was one of the lowest charging 'Unitary' councils in the land, they have now changed tack to comparing with other Yorkshire councils. Why is this? Could it be because I have repeated published the figures on this site showing that Yorks rise since 2003, nearly 36%, is the highest of the 65 Unitary councils, and are now nearly half way up that table.
Rest assured, I will be downloading all the figures for Yorkshire councils AND will be comparing them with 2003 and be publishing them on this site................
.....BEFORE THE NEXT ELECTION.

All the points about who is right and who is wrong is somewhat point less.
The real issue is that the council tax is increased by 2.7% whereas my pension is only going up 1.7%. As a result something will have to give.
The council could only boast if there had been a nil increase or just a little over that amount.
I am sure that they could have found savings to achieve this if there had been the will to do so.
Gordon Brown today says there will be a pay freeze on senior civil servant and some others.
I wonder if this will apply to the highest paid officers in this and other councils many of whom receive more than the PM and MP's.
I don't hold my breath though.

James Alexander wrote:
Dear Henry Swanson, I disagree. You shouldn’t be in public office being paid by the public purse if you are unwilling to stand up for your views openly. Councillor James Alexander Labour Councillor for Holgate Ward

I don't know occasionally I'd want to be able to say what I really thought but according to your logic that would mean potentially leaving your political party and becoming an independant.

What annoys me is the amount of people's hard-earned council tax that goes on insurance claims from people who allege they have injured themselves by tripping over loose paving slabs and the like.

James Alexander wrote:
Dear Silver, I was not aware of the changes in business rates but if it is harming business and an economic recovery, then there should be a review of the rates. Councillor James Alexander Labour Councillor for Holgate Ward

Thank you for putting this view which I agree with but any chance of copying and pasting it into the proper news article. I'm being nit picky but as this is all in the public eye it'd be nice to have it on record in the correct place, should you become MP, and due to the nature of current distrusts of our political system (i.e Expenses not pointing the finger as far as I know you haven't fiddled the council expenses) no rush though there's a game on after all

I know it's slightly off-subject here, but I am interested to know if Cllr Alexander is making and responding to all these posts whilst simultaneously carrying out his day job at York St John University? It's just that most of his posts are made during working hours so I am therefore deducing that he mustn't have a great deal else to do in his day if he can spend so much time on this website... of course, if Cllr Alexander is not at work whilst posting these messages then I apologise wholeheartedly. However, if not then perhaps he ought to concentrate more on doing what his employers pay him to do during working hours, rather than trying to win over the electorate by 'outing' his fellow councillors and demonstrating (in his own mind) how open, honest and transparent he is at at the same time. I'm sure the good people at YSJ would not be particularly impressed to know that Cllr Alexander spends a significant amount of his day at work on this magnificent website...

I for one am all for Councillors, or even potential local MP's, commenting on these pages as I think there are many topics which we would like to debate with those who seek represent us. This would be democracy in action.
Sadly it doesn't work this way. For example one of the councillors mentioned earlier on this page was paid £21,892.50 last year, yet if the "outings" are to be believed then his on-line persona is responsible for some of the most aggressive and unpleasant posts we see.
Let me remind you of a story that was reported in these pages a year ago; the local Liberal Dems decided to buy all the web addresses with name that Susan Wade Weeks might want to use for her message and redirected them to Liberal web sites. When questioned the Lib Dems tried to laugh it off saying she had no sense of humour! Now I'm no Conservative , but we live in a Democracy and she has every right to publicise her message with out a munch of bullies manipulating the press.
I see the same thing happening here, and that is why I'll not be voting Lib Dem in May.l

Just seen on the news about a headline family abuse case investigation in South Yorkshire. Al the usual tirades against Social Services. But if they are to be effective, they must be paid at a rate that will attract and retain the right quantity and calibre of staff. And so it is across the country. If we want good services we must be prepared to pay for them through Council Tax.
Sadly the present government rules for determining rate support grant are based on social need, deprivation levels and so on. York's business rates are paid direct to the Government. The City never gets the same amount back. So which other cities are we subsidising? Over to our present and prospective parliamentary candidates!

LibDem wrote:
10 years ago, when Labour were the largest Group on the Council, they issued a leaflet claiming to be the lowest Council Tax in North Yorkshire (true at the time). They didn't include the Police precept nor does the central (Labour) Government web sites which compare the performance of individual Councils.
The Press have the list of Council Tax levels to be paid throughout Yorkshire but they choose not to publish it. No doubt seeking to spare Cllr Alexanders blushes (he does spend a lot of time jumping on whatever bandwagon the media happen to be pushing from one month to the enxt).

Ah I wondered how long it would take you to crawl out of your hole. Be you Galloway the Jester of York or whoever if you want to campaign, be upfront about who you are or disappear down one of the holes in the our roads that the Council is failing to fill. Goodbye LibDum

Dear GoodDoc,

Apologies if you find me creepy. If you want to go for a pint some time e-mail me. Hopefully I can convince you then that I am not that much of a knob. This is a genuine offer.

Dear Silver,

I am afraid the first I knew of this was the Press article printed today and the Press did not contact me for comment. I am happy to give a comment saying I support a review to the Press if they are interested. Feel free to take any comments I give on this site as being on the record. In terms of council expenses I am the first Councillor in York to publish my full council expenses on my website including items that the council website do not state (e.g. phone and internet allowance). I also personally saved up and paid for a full page colour advert in the Press to set out my contract with the voters of York over expenses. All details can be found on http://time4change.w
ordpress.com/about/e
xpenses/.

Dear Michelle O'Malley,

When a news article is published that I am involved in I use my iPhone to request that I receive an e-mail if a comment is added. This goes straight to my iPhone. This allows me between work meetings or at lunch to respond to a news article just as most people would respond to a text message (as long as my poor iPhone battery does not run out). I also very much doubt that comments on this site win over any of the electorate, I just think it is right to defend your position to justified scrutiny.

Councillor James Alexander
Labour Councillor for Holgate Ward

GoodDoc wrote:
Am I the only one who finds Mr Alexander a little creepy? Putting himself up as a champion of the people, espousing populist ideas, bickering on public forums and courting York Press like he owes them a favour. 'Unveiling' councillors on here? To be frank, I am no more suspicious of commenters like 'voiceofreason' than I am of the comments that quickly follow any post by Mr Alexander, saying how wonderful and refreshing he is.
Ultimately, anyone that listens to any particular councillor on which councillors to trust, is probably not fit to vote.

Personally I find it a lot less creepy then the likes of LibDem, GailForceWinds and the ironically named voiceoreason who are also quick to comment at any time of the day or night with their usual mantra

we may have the cheapest council tax but that's because we then pay extra to park outside our own houses and then have to pay a visitors pass on top of this.

James Alexander wrote:
Dear Henry Swanson, The point is the leaflet was not correct. It said lowest Council Tax in Yorkshire and had no mention of police and fire costs. It is misleading and this is wrong. I think it is wrong to be paid by the public purse and then defend your views or position under a pseudonym as if you are a member of the public backing up your own view. This is also misleading. It portrays a lack of belief and confidence in your own opinion. People can disagree with me if they wish, they can even as you said believe I am pointless, but at least I defend my position openly because I believe what I say. I get paid from the public purse and people who elect me have a right to know what my opinion is and what I am doing on their behalf. I therefore don’t believe politicians should have anonymity on this board. Dear Silver, I can work with Nigel but we don’t appear to be on any committees together anymore, apart from the full Council meetings. And Nigel, did you swap hats when you were logging in and logging out of this website just now? Anyway I couldn’t fight you Nige. I am a lover not a fighter… Councillor James Alexander Labour Councillor for Holgate Ward

Personally, I think that as you local politicians are paid from the public purse, you should be sorting out the pot holes in the roads or other such important things instead of spending your time on here spouting off schoolboy taunts...come on...get some bl**dy work done!!!

Dear delboy352,

The Lib Dem Dem Council will only fill in pot holes on main roads as a priority. However I and my fellow ward Councillors are starting a number of campaigns to get other roads within our ward also filled in or resurfaced. This follows the success of our campaign last year to get West Bank resurfaced (http://www.flickr.c
om/photos/time4chang
e/4043724858/in/set-
72157600876871099/). All residents in the ward have been written to by us to ask if they believe their road needs to be added to this local campaign priority list. A number of residents have responded. If you live on the Acomb side of Holgate ward, please e-mail me on cllr.jalexander@york
.gov.uk to get your street added to this list if you believe it should also be a priority. If you are not a resident within Holgate ward I can pass you onto your local Councillors. Please do get in touch.

All the best,

Councillor James Alexander
Labour Councillor for Holgate Ward

A charming offer Mr Alexander, but unfortunately trying to woo complete strangers over a pint still qualifies as creepy in my book! I've nothing personal against you, (aside perhaps from your dubious fashion sense) but forgive my natural suspicion of any councillor who seems to present themselves as being wholly different to all of his colleagues. Joe Public. Salt of the earth. Voice of the people. It's a well-trodden path.

Dear GoodDoc,

With all due respect, if a genuine invite to discuss politics is seen as creepy to you then you will never be able to engage with politicians and influence the decisions politicians make and this makes it unfair when you might say nobody has asked you what you want or is willing to listen to you. I am not completely different from my colleague. Many from all parties work very hard to engage with people and represent residents. However it is true that bad apples from all parties give us all a bad reputation. If you ever change your mind and would like to engage with local politics, give me a call or e-mail me. My details are on the Council website. I also have you know I am a fashion icon!

Have a good weekend,

Councillor James Alexander
Labour Councillor for Holgate Ward

Mr Alexander, I find it highly worrying that you assume I do not engage with local politics as a whole, simply because I decline an offer to meet with you in my own time. I hadn't realised this was the benchmark. I don't feel politics is some source of academic banter to be discussed over beer. Nor do I feel that councillors need to try and be trendy or casual in order to do an effective job. No one owes a councillor their spare time in that respect, and I'm sure you'll find that people successfully interact with the council all the time without having to meet up with specific councillors in pubs. If I suddenly find all other methods of communication to be entirely ineffectual, there may be a case for meeting councillors in bars and suffering their unctuousness! Until that day, I think I'll stick with more traditional methods. Regards.

Dear GoodDoc,

I think there can be no substitute for face to face communication. However my proverbial door is always open if you change your mind.

Councillor James Alexander
Labour Councillor for Holgate Ward