SEVEN candidates are to stand for a Pembrokeshire council seat made vacant following the death of veteran councillor Brian Hall, including a former councillor who was once barred from holding any form of public office for three years.
Before he passed away in April, Councillor Brian Hall had held the Pembroke Dock Market ward seat since 1996, and had many council roles over the years including the planning committee, on the Cabinet from its inception in 2002 until March 2007 and between 2012 and 2022, and had chaired several Overview and Scrutiny Committees including Environment, Services and Corporate.
Following Cllr Hall’s death, the-then leader of the council Cllr Jon Harvey said: “Brian was a council stalwart and had been working for, and demanding better, for his constituents for nearly 30 years.
“His enthusiasm for his home patch was unmatched and there was little of Pembroke Dock’s history that he could not tell you about. The loss of Brian from the chamber will be felt by all members of council across the board.”
Presiding Member of Pembrokeshire County Council, Cllr Simon Hancock said: “Brian was a larger-than-life character who was passionately devoted to Pembroke Dock and his constituents. He never let an opportunity pass without mentioning and advancing the interests of his hometown. We extend sincere condolences to his family.”
Since that seat became vacant, seven hopefuls have now put their names forward to represent the Market ward, with an election being held on July 9.
Those standing are: Hayley Wood (independent), Lee Herring (Welsh Liberal Democrats), Jamie Street (Welsh Conservative), Claire Francis-Boswell (independent), Chloe Louise Richards (Plaid Cymru), Ryan Morgan (Reform UK), and Paul Haywood Dowson (independent), but listed as a member of Restore Britain since March of this year.
Back in 2022, the-then Cllr Dowson, representing Pembroke Dock Central as a UKIP councillor, was barred from holding any form of public office for the next three years after being found guilty of bullying, providing fabricated evidence to the Ombudsman and of misleading the public at a case tribunal convened by the president of the adjudication panel for Wales.
Mr Dowson more recently stood as an independent candidate in this year’s Senedd elections for the new Ceredigion Penfro constituency, gaining 88 votes out of a total of 89,402 votes cast.
