Why did I sacrifice a leisurely retirement to stand for Bedar Town Council in the upcoming May elections? I have been retired here for two years and have loved my Spanish experience so far – the lovely weather and countryside, the wonderful sense of community, the many friendly bars, and even learning to play tennis again after 40 years!
An important part of my Spanish experience was joining the El Pinar Residents Association as a committee member. We asked for a proper postal service and were promised one, but it never came. We asked for our primitive sewage system to be made good. Again we got promises from the town hall but nothing was done. We asked for our own recycling area and were promised one but, you’ve guessed it, nothing materialised. We complained about streetlights that didn’t work; this dangerous situation continued for many months until an elderly resident fell late one night and was only fortuitously found. In short, we spent a frustrating year going repeatedly to the town hall asking for concrete action on these and other unfulfilled promises and all we got were more promises.
The Residents Association began to realise that going to the town hall with a begging bowl was simply a waste of time, an experience that apparently many others – both Spanish and non-Spanish – share. We began to realise that the only solution was to wield real influence in the corridors of power. But how? Levante Sostenible and the Partido Andalucista paved the way at the last elections in 2007, but with a minority of only two councillors out of seven, the opposition councillors were routinely outvoted and simply ignored. We knew we needed to increase the numbers of our councillors if we are to have any voice at all. Not an easy task in a village which has long been a PSOE stronghold.
Around this time, John Bowling and I were approached to stand as independent councillors in a list of candidates – the other eight are Spanish, many of them young Bedarenses hungry for change – under the PP (Partido Popular) banner. John is no newcomer to local politics; in 2003, he was the lone British member of the PP list and in 2007, he was part of Levante Sostenible. We both realised that this was a logical move if we wanted to secure a real voice in the town hall and more equitable treatment for the outlying areas of the village. We also agreed that being able to attain more fairness and accountability from the town hall would be worth whatever it cost us personally in time and effort. So we took the plunge and offered ourselves as candidates.
Over the past weeks, we have been meeting regularly with members of the list and it has been an exciting experience working as a multicultural team that is truly representative of our community’s various groups. Although John and I are number five and two respectively on the list, we have taken on the leadership roles because of our age and proven experience.
I spent the first part of my working life as a Methodist minister working primarily in London where I oversaw the development of multi-million pound church and pastoral centre to serve my parishioners who came from all walks of life and nationalities. My second career was as a psychotherapist in private practice in Bristol. The major strengths that I bring to the table are therefore my administrative and management skills along with my ability to listen. John Bowling was a self-employed photographer in Sheffield before retirement and has been active politically in Bedar for many years.
I am still getting to know the Spanish members of our list. What I have already noted is that what they might lack in experience is more than compensated for by their energy, enthusiasm and true understanding of the changes needed in Bedar. Most importantly, they recognise and welcome the need to work with the non-Spanish population who make up nearly half of the village’s population. They want a revived and forward-looking village with opportunities for all. We, the foreign population, want the same without sacrificing the rural enchantment which attracted us here in the first place. Working together as a truly democratic team, along with our legal and technical advisers who are all contributing on a volunteer basis, we have written a manifesto which explains our basic philosophy, our aims and our broad-based policies.
We are holding a public meeting in the El Pinar Bar on Wednesday May 11th at 6.00pm.
Kind regards,
David Horton, independent candidate for Bedar deputy mayor
John Bowling, independent candidate for Bedar town council
