IT REALLY does beggar belief, the number of sheep who are York residents. I refer to those naive little souls who seem to think Coun Reid had done nothing wrong in abusing her position to "fix" the traffic lights for her daughter's wedding.

Councillors such as Ann Reid and Steve Galloway seem incapable of recognising the fact that abusing one's position for personal gain does not only mean a monetary back-hander. It also means doing something to one's personal advantage - and fixing the traffic lights for a family member's wedding certainly comes into this category.

Now the councillor herself may not think that she has brought the council into disrepute.

But, as this story has been reported around the world, her actions have brought ridicule on City of York Council and the city's residents. If this isn't bringing the council into disrepute, I don't know what is.

Just because members of the Government act without shame when it comes to personal gain does not mean members of local government should do the same.

If the councillor is genuine in her beliefs that she did nothing wrong, she should still resign immediately and let the constituents of her ward decide if she is indeed fit to hold office.

Steven Smith,

Dijon Avenue, Acomb, York.

Updated: 09:29 Thursday, October 27, 2005