Former councillor warns Buckie by-election hopefuls it’s not a part-time job

By Hazel Lawson, Local Democracy Reporter

October 18 2022, 5:00 pm

Former Buckie councillor Gordon Cowie is warning those standing in the upcoming by-election they need to be prepared for the demands of the job. Image: Jason Hedges/DC Thomson

A former Buckie councillor is warning those standing in next month’s by-election they better be prepared for the demands of the job.

Gordon Cowie represented the town as an independent for eight years, stepping down at the local government elections in May.

He is warning candidates they should be prepared for the workload and the abuse that may come their way.

The by-election was called when Liberal Democrat Christopher Price resigned after 103 days in the job.

Although Mr Cowie felt he was too old to put himself up for re-election, his main reason for not standing again was down to the abuse he and his family were subjected to in the later years of his tenure.

He even received hate mail, and although police carried out an investigation the culprit has not been found.

‘Juggling exercise’

Mr Cowie also faced unfounded accusations he breached the Councillors’ Code of Conduct. The row centred on him allegedly not declaring an interest at a planning appeal hearing in March 2021.

However the Standards Commission for Scotland found no evidence the code had been broken and it was not “necessary or appropriate” to take the matter further.

Mr Cowie said: “If I’d stood again I would be nearly 80 by the end of the term.

“It’s a younger person’s game.

“The council is a full-time job, you can’t have another job and do it – it doesn’t work.

“I just hope the candidates have considered that and don’t think it’s going to be part-time.

“It can be very difficult, you can’t please everybody all the time.

“And for those who don’t want something there will be a lot of folk who do – it’s a juggling exercise.”

Mr Price, who stood down in August, was the first Lib Dem to sit on Moray Council since before the multi-member ward system came into being in 2007.

He was one of only three candidates who stood in the ward, and as there were only three seats available they did not face a vote.

Mr Price’s reason for resigning was he was finding it difficult managing his full-time work as a travel clerk with the Ministry of Defence along with his council duties, and felt he was not giving the best service to the people of Buckie.