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Catherine McGinty, 20 Mar
Former DUP Councillor and Mayor, Alderman Graham Warke, has announced
his candidacy in the forthcoming Local Government Elections.
Alderman Warke is standing in the Faughan District Electoral Area as an
independent candidate.
The Local Government Elections take place on May 18 and will see a
total of 462 councillors elected across 11 local councils.
Alderman Warke, who is from Newbuildings was co-opted onto Derry City
and Strabane District Council to fill the vacancy left by Gary
Middleton who became a Foyle MLA.
In the 2019 Local Council Elections, Alderman Warke topped the poll in
the Faughan ward and subsequently served as Deputy Mayor and then Mayor
between June 2020 and May 2022.
In June 2022 he announced he was leaving the DUP but remaining on Derry
City and Strabane District Council as an Independent councillor.
Speaking to Derry Now about his decision to throw his hat into the ring
in May, Alderman Warke said he felt he had not received DUP support
during his mayoral year.
“I’ll be honest, support wise it wasn’t there, for what I was doing. I
felt the party could have supported me a lot more.
“In my heart, I was getting frustrated by what was going on in the
Assembly and, for me, I had two schools in the Cityside and two schools
in the Waterside one day and all they needed was an Education
Minister’s signature.
“As the Mayor, I was promised the Education Minister was coming down
and for whatever reason, they couldn’t make it that day, which was fair
enough, and we set it up again, and it happened again. By that stage I
was very frustrated. You heard it all the time but it just seemed as if
there was a roadblock on the Glenshane.”
Alderman said since he had gone Independent, he has received “a lot of
support”.
“I love being a councillor,” he added, “and I respect every councillor
in there. They are not in it for money, they are in for the love of
their community and that is what I love.
“I love where I live and I want to make it better. It’s wee Betty up
the street or wee Bob down the street, it might not be a big job to me
but it is a big thing to them and it is about helping them as an
elected representative.
That is why I have decided to do what I love and I want to give it a go
here now for the next elections on May 18. I have a good team built up
around me and we are already on the ground canvassing. As anybody
knows, I’m only a text or a phone call away. I’m not the hardest to
get. I am always there for anybody and everybody.
“My journey as an elected representative is not finished yet. I still
have a lot to achieve, a lot of jobs out there to complete. I feel we
need that voice for people out there.”
Read the full interview with Alderman Graham Warke in Thursday's Derry
News.