Honiton: Election for St. Michael’s Ward will take place

Two people have stood for election to become town councillors for St. Michael's Ward.

Darren Bodfish and John Taylor have put themselves forward for the position. Mr Bodfish listed his address as 'East Devon' and was proposed by Lesley Reilly and seconded by Shean Reilly. Mr Tayor, who lives in Honiton, was proposed by John Zarczynski and seconded by Cindy Zarczynski.

Mr Taylor has previously been on Honiton Town Council and he was involved in a legal dispute with the organisation.

In a case, which was heard at the High Court and resolved in a ruling published in December 2016, Mr Taylor disputed actions against him taken by Honiton Council and and an advisory ruling by East Devon Council.

In that ruling, which related to action taken by Honiton Council against Mr Taylor following comments he made about the council alleging malpractice and in which he was critical of the town clerk, Mr Justice Edis said Honiton Council had acted unlawfully. The council had imposed sanctions upon him because the council believed he had committed a breach of Honiton's Code of Conduct for its members by failing to treat the Town Clerk with courtesy and respect. The clerk alleged she had been slandered and that her professional reputation was affected.

The judge quashed the decision made by the council following its consideration of Mr Taylor's remarks. 

The legal argument involved local authority case law and the implementation of procedures. East Devon Council were included in the action before Judge Edis by Honiton Council because it acted as an 'interested party'.

Judge Edis ruled the actions and decision of East Devon Council in relation its interpretation of the rules and Mr Taylor's conduct was lawful.

The judge, now Lord Justice Sir Andrew Edis, did deliver a commentary on Mr Taylor's actions and East Devon Council's decision. He said: "It was reasonably open to the decision maker to conclude that this was a serious breach of the Code. There is no finding as to the claimant's motives and it may be that he acted in good faith, believing that his statement about the Town Clerk was justified.

"However, it was not. He accused her of criminal conduct when there was not the slightest justification for doing so. This was a very serious error of judgement." 

Last month Honiton Town Council invited people to stand in the election.

There is only one available space on the council, which was created by the resignation of David Munge earlier this year.

The election will take place on Thursday August 25.

*An original version of this story may have given the interpretation Mr John Taylor had breached the council's code of conduct over the matter of his comments about Honiton Council and its town clerk. That was not the case and in the resolution issued by the High Court it was made clear that Honiton's sanctions against Mr Taylor had been quashed. We apologise for any distress caused to Mr Taylor if our interpretation of the historic events gave the impression he was in breach of Honiton Council's Code of Conduct. 

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