CITY Councillor Ranwell Jordan has been elected to preside as acting mayor over the Georgetown City Council. At a specially convened statutory meeting called by acting Town Clerk Carol Sooba yesterday at City Hall, councillors were asked to nominate a person to perform the duties of mayor in the absence of incumbent Mayor of Georgetown, Hamilton Green.

Councillor Oscar Clarke nominated Councillor Jordan, and this was seconded by Councillor Hector Stoute. As there was no other nomination, Councillor Junior Garret asked for nominations to be closed.

In an interview with the media after the meeting, the acting town clerk said that in her almost 12 months since taking office, yesterday was the first time she had heard councillors ask for a better relationship to be developed between the City Council and the administration.

She pointed out that Deputy Mayor Patricia Chase-Green left without obtaining official leave, she did not write the town clerk asking for time, nor did she make any request of the councillors at the statutory meeting. Sooba said she learnt unofficially that Chase-Green left the jurisdiction in excess of three weeks, and is due back by the end of August.

Meanwhile, Mayor Green wrote the town clerk after the last statutory meeting, at which he announced that he would be out of the jurisdiction for an “unspecified number of days.” Sooba explained that Green had held an illegal meeting at which Councillor Ranwell Jordan was elected to act as Mayor of Georgetown.

Sooba said she advised the mayor against embarking on that course of action at the time it was being committed, because the law does not provide for the mayor to nominate anyone to act in his absence, but her advice was ignored. She said she then duly advised Councillor Jordan that he could not assume the duties of mayor, but he also disregarded her advice and proceeded to act as Mayor of Georgetown.

Yesterday’s nomination legally covered Councillor Jordan to perform the duties of the mayor in absence of Mayor Green. Sooba posited that while Jordan was illegally occupying the office of the mayor, the key was taken from him by the chief constable, but at this legal meeting, after being declared acting mayor, the key was returned to him by the chief constable. Sooba noted that she duly sent out notices, acting according to Section 17 Subsections 1, 2 and 3 of the Municipal District and Councils Act, to convene this meeting. She stressed that this is the legal way to have the nomination done, and not the course of action that Green had adopted at the last statutory meeting.

She said she is pleased that the councillors would have recognised the legal feature of the council, and added that after seven days of the mayor’s absence from office, Jordan will be entitled to take up and inherit all other facilities of the mayor, such as vehicles etc.

Sooba noted that regarding the matter of leave for the mayor and deputy mayor, Section 20 of the law states that the City Council may grant leave of absence to the mayor and deputy mayor for any period not exceeding three months during their term in office.

Mayor Green’s highlighting that he would be taking leave for an “unspecified