Mr Gregory Colgan, Dundee City Council chief executive, has left the Scottish Information Commissioner’s office “puzzled”.
Jennifer Ross, deputy head of enforcement, said the authority “appeared to be deliberately misconstruing the description of works” with your attempt to claim there weren’t repairs but refurbishments at the Olympia.
Let’s have a look at the ramifications of that.
“Deliberately” failed to comply with the Freedom of Information Act (Scotland) 2002.
There is no other option Gregory, you must resign. The response to The Courier’s Olympia FOI request is in your name.
If you don’t resign, how can you act against anyone else flouting such things at will?
Indeed, what requirement is there now for Dundee City Council to comply with any local government legislation if the chief executive can dodge transparency?
And where is the reaction we should be seeing?
Do senior figures on the council condone his actions? Or are they afraid to even express an opinion?
‘Vote of no confidence’
A councillor’s role in local government is to represent the people – and silence does not do this.
You sit in meetings alongside Gregory Colgan. If you think he isn’t doing his job properly, you must point that out on behalf of the people.
You should be expressing, on the record, your anger at the way the city’s name has been dragged through the mud.
Have you proposed a vote of no confidence in him?
If not, why not?
Or do you agree that laws can be flouted?
So, I put this plainly and personally to senior figures on the council – why haven’t you said anything?
It’ll be interesting to see if any of you have the guts to answer.
Can you imagine the frenzy of Facebook re-posts by Dundee’s SNP group if a matter that directly affects the city was “deliberately misconstrued” by the Labour government at Westminster?
And what would Dundee’s Labour group say if this was done by the SNP at Holyrood?
Easy to point fingers and talk tough about someone far away, isn’t it?
You’re not so brave when it comes to close-quarter fighting, when you’d have to look a man in the eye and criticise him.
Or is it that you’re all too cosy and chummy in your well-paid clique?
‘Here’s what I would do’
This is the worst set of councillors Dundee has ever had. A collection of no-marks too meek to say what ordinary people in the city are already saying.
It’s got so bad, I’m thinking of standing as an independent councillor myself.
I’d not be in the clique.
I’d demand Gregory Colgan apologises and begs the people of Dundee to keep his £170k job – or resigns.
I’d tell those happy to stay silent that they are cheating their constituents by not speaking up.
I’d inform the public of exactly what was going on and give my opinion on it.
Would you vote for me?
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