LABOUR councillor Tom Shortt has revealed he will challenge Mayor of Limerick, Cllr Kathleen Leddin at next Monday’s City Council meeting for the seat recently allocated to its members on the Board of City of Culture.
“If anything was learned from the unhappiness concerning the original make up of the board and the appointment of Patricia Ryan, it is that people want a proper selection process for every important position,” Cllr Shortt declared.
He has tabled a motion for next week’s Council meeting calling for a selection process and setting out a mandate for the City Council representative to promote inclusivity and participation by all the people of Limerick in the Arts during City of Culture.
“Mayor Leddin never campaigned for change to the City of Culture board and failed to speak at the public meeting on the issue when invited. In contrast I pointed out the problems in late November and my speech at the public meeting is widely regarded as having been significant in forcing the change that secured six new seats on the board. Justice will only be done by allowing an opportunity for the seat to be filled by somebody who actually fought to secure it and I am not accepting the idea that the Mayor should automatically take the seat,” Shortt warned.
