Latest news with #localpolitics
Forbes
3 days ago
- General
- Forbes
Local Politicians Blame ‘Rude' Cycling Advocates For Lack Of High-Quality Cycle Lanes
Detail of a bike symbol partially obliterated by roadworks on Tottencourt Court Road, in London, ... More England. (Photo by Richard Baker / In Pictures via Getty Images Images) Aside from the proliferation of potholes, few other issues lead to fiercer debate in local media than the creation of bike lanes. Even though cycling is a benign form of personal transport, much of this debate is often headlined as 'controversial,' with those who call for cycle infrastructure sometimes labeled, wrongly, as 'all-powerful.' At the same time, far more dominant car interests fly under the radar. Now, a new British study claims that a 'sizeable number of cyclists may unwittingly undermine their own cause.' In the words of one local politician mentioned in the study, this was because of the 'rudeness' of some cycle advocates on social media. This characterization may be a symptom of so-called 'motornormativity'—unconscious bias in favor of motoring—but, according to a local politician quoted in the paper, many U.K. councils 'find it harder to advocate for more cycle infrastructure, not because people don't like it, but because people feel that nothing we ever do will make cyclists happy.' Given the often truncated nature of bike lanes—which can start and stop for no physical reason and rarely mesh to form a useable network, unlike the infrastructure provided for motorists—this is perhaps unsurprising. The study includes interviews with dozens of councilors and local officials who work on local transport projects across the U.K. Study author Dr. Alexander Nurse, a reader in urban planning at the University of Liverpool, found that while bike lane opponents were often hostile and antagonistic, so were some cycle advocates. View of a bus cutting across a painted cycle lane at Old Street roundabout on in London, England. ... More (Photo by John Keeble/Getty Image) Nurse found that slightly less than one-third of interactions with cycle advocates about new projects were seen as negative. One respondent complained: 'Cycling campaigners are counterproductive due to their rudeness.' Strident social media campaigning in favor of bike lanes 'can massively undermine [cycling's] case, particularly with skeptical councilors,' said a respondent to Nurse's survey of almost 50 councilors and officials. However, such strident posts on Twitter, Facebook, and other social media sites were considered by councilors to be peripheral, while far more persuasive were emails and face-to-face interactions with constituents. 'While social media is a powerful tool,' said Nurse, 'it doesn't replace traditional methods when it comes to meaningful community engagement.' The subject of providing infrastructure for cyclists was considered 'controversial' by many councilors, reports The Guardian, with debate on social media seen as 'toxic.' Those opposed to cycling infrastructure could often be 'abusive,' said the research. One councilor described being 'doxxed' online, with their address and family details revealed. Some councillors expressed suspicion of those opposed to bike lanes, describing them as 'usually anonymous' and often pushing 'misinformation from the Libertarian fringe or organizations that are almost certainly bankrolled by fossil fuel organizations' but councillors also said that some cycle advocates 'don't appreciate challenges in advancing delivery.' The paper is published in the journal Local Government Studies.
Associated Press
4 days ago
- General
- Associated Press
Georgia mayor and 2 others are jailed on felony charges for trying to halt a local election
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — The mayor of a small city in Georgia and two former election officials have been jailed on felony charges stemming from efforts last November to halt a local election after one of the mayor's allies was disqualified from a city council race. Camilla Mayor Kelvin Owens was being held at the Mitchell County jail Friday, two days after a grand jury indicted him on a felony charge of election interference and a misdemeanor count of conspiring to commit election fraud. Also jailed were the city's former elections superintendent, Rhunette Williford; and her former deputy superintendent, Cheryl Ford, who is currently Camilla's city clerk. They were charged with the same crimes as the mayor, plus misdemeanor counts of failing to perform their duties as public officers. Chaos roiled special elections for a pair of city council seats in Camilla last November amid a long-running legal battle over local politics in the town, a farming community of about 5,000 people in rural southwest Georgia. The case revolved around Venterra Pollard, a city council member removed from office last summer after a judge ruled he wasn't a Camilla resident. Pollard ran to regain the position in the fall special election. Another judge ordered Pollard disqualified and ruled that votes for him should be discarded. In addition, the city was ordered to post signs saying votes for Pollard wouldn't be counted. On Nov. 4, the day before Election Day, both Williford and Ford quit as the city's two top elections officials. Their joint resignation letter blamed 'mental duress, stress and coercion experienced by recent court decisions regarding our role in elections.' Owens, citing his emergency powers as mayor, moved swiftly to halt the city's elections. Signs posted at City Hall and a notice on Facebook declared the election was canceled. Polling places were closed to both poll workers and voters in the morning. The elections were held, albeit several hours behind schedule, after Superior Court Judge Heather Lanier appointed new supervisors to oversee the voting and ordered polls to remain open until nearly 4 a.m. Elections for president, Congress and other offices weren't affected. Mayor Owens had blamed the local upheaval on racial politics, saying that Pollard, who is Black, was targeted by white residents trying to wrest power from the majority Black population. The city of Camilla is nearly three-fourths Black. The Georgia NAACP said in a statement on Facebook that it was 'deeply alarmed' by the allegations of election interference as well as the arrests of Owens and the two former election officials, all of whom are Black. 'We were shocked that there were indictments,' said Gerald Griggs, president of the Georgia NAACP. 'We are still in a fact-finding mode to see what actually happened.' All three defendants remained in jail awaiting a hearing Monday. It was not immediately known if any of them had attorneys who could speak for them. Messages seeking comment were left at two phone numbers for Owens. The Associated Press could not find working phone numbers for Williford or Ford. District Attorney Joe Mulholland, whose circuit includes Camilla, declined to comment on the indictment Friday.
BBC News
5 days ago
- General
- BBC News
New political party launched in Black Country
A new "community-led" political party has been launched in Black Country Party was formed by six borough councillors who currently make up the Dudley Independent Group, known as 'the Diggers'. They said they will aim to focus on local issues that affect working class people in the area at its launch on Friday. The party includes councillors Karen Westwood, Steve Edwards, Matt Cook, Peter Drake, Karl Denning and Pete Lowe. Wards Lye and Stourbridge North, Brierley Hill and Wordsley South, Brockmoor and Pensnett, Castle and Priory, and Coseley will now be represented by the Black Country Party on Dudley elected leader is Lowe, with Westwood elected as deputy who resigned from the Labour Party in January after being a member for 41 years, said: "To say I am proud to launch The Black Country Party is an understatement. "We have six working class councillors who have had enough of a failed party system which puts Westminster and personal ambition before people. "We believe politics needs to change and ordinary people need to have their voices heard."Both councillors said they had previously left the Labour Party due to cuts to the winter fuel allowance and "removal of support for vulnerable people".Westwood said: "I knew we had to be the voice for local people and offer something different. That is why we are launching the Black Country Party."A joint statement from the councillors said the government should be investing in local communities. Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
6 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Channel Islanders lack trust in politics, survey finds
There is a widespread lack of trust and representation in local politics, a pan-island survey has survey by Island Global Research, focused on understanding people's attitudes on "topical issues", also asked islanders the extent to which they trusted different institutions.A total of 1,140 residents aged over 16 in Guernsey participated and 601 took part in than 70% of respondents in Guernsey and 68% in Jersey believed their island was "heading in the wrong direction" and they had no or limited influence on decisions being made. Cost of living Across both island less than 20% said they felt elected officials represented their views well while 46% of respondents in Jersey and 58% in Guernsey said they would definitely vote in their next in Jersey said their top concerns were healthcare and inflation, with inflation being more important to younger residents and healthcare to older priorities for improvement included the cost of living, hospital waiting lists and residents said they were mainly concerned about housing, with 80% saying it was important, as well as the priorities for improvement were affordable housing, the cost of living and than 70% of islanders rated their quality of life as being 6 or higher out of 10 and most believed their lives were better in the islands than in the UK.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New member Breanne Hocker appointed to Clive City Council, will serve rest of 2025
The Clive City Council has a new member. The council unanimously voted May 22 to appoint Breanne Hocker to fill the vacant seat left by former member Srikant Mikkilineni, who announced in February he would resign April 11 to move to Arizona with his family for a job promotion. Hocker has lived in Clive since 2020 and has served on the Clive Board of Adjustment for the past five years, according to a city news release. "I'm proud to live in Clive, and I want others to be as well," Hocker said in the release of her excitement to get going in the role. She will hold Mikkilineni's former seat through the end of the year. The seat will be up for election in November and the winner will serve the remainder of Mikkilineni's term through 2027. Six people were previously listed to be interviewed by the Clive City Council for the vacant seat, according to the agenda from an earlier council meeting in May: Andrew Bovard, Gisele Crowe, Jeffrey Faber, Hocker, Fabian Perez and Dave Roszak. May 22, the list of candidates had narrowed to three: Bovard, Hocker and Roszak. Hocker has degrees from Luther College and the University of Iowa. She has held various financial, health care and nonprofit regulatory compliance roles in her career, according to the city's release. Councilmember Hocker can be reached at bhocker@ Phillip Sitter covers the suburbs for the Des Moines Register. Phillip can be reached via email at psitter@ or on X at @pslifeisabeauty. Find out more about him online through the Register's staff directory. This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: New member Breanne Hocker appointed to Clive City Council
