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Tom Smithard: Mayor's chains weighed down by past scandal and mistakes
AS reviews go, they do not get more damning than the government inquiry which branded Doncaster Council "inadequate" following the deaths of seven children who had been placed in the authority's care.
In its wake, Mayor Martin Winter chose to step aside. This was a controversy too far after a turbulent eight-year reign that had, in fact, been intended to restore the authority's integrity following the "Donnygate" scandal.
Now the question is whether his successor will fare any better – or whether the town will continue to be tainted by scandal.
Mr Winter became Labour leader in 2001 and mayor in 2002. He was untainted by the "Donnygate" affair in which 21 Labour councillors, including two former leaders, were found guilty of offences ranging from expenses fiddling to the acceptance of bribes.
Mr Winter's first term was relatively controversy-free, save for minor grumblings about upgrading the cash-strapped council's mayoral vehicle from a Toyota people carrier to a Mercedes and using public funds to pay for a Labour Party away-day in London.
But, after the former rugby league player and freelance development consultant won a second term in May 2005, it emerged that he was facing police investigations into his role running a community project in the 1990s, and into a high-profile rally organised by Doncaster Rovers.
Held weeks before his re-election, it was not recorded on his election expenses.
Links between Mr Winter, and a property developer who had backed his election campaigns, also raised concerns. The developer had plans turned down by the council, but planning officials changed their minds after a meeting with the mayor.
A feud between Mr Winter and the council's managing director Susan Law saw each report the other to the police, with the mayor instigating a four-month investigation into his rival that saw her cleared of all charges. By then she had already received a 120,000 pay-off to leave the authority.
Early in 2006, the entire Labour cabinet threatened to resign over his leadership style but all but two were persuaded to change their mind at the last minute. Mr Winter later described them as "maggots" while at one vote-of-confidence meeting he was called "a bully", "self-seeking and self-serving" and described as running "a mayoral dictatorship".
Mr Winter, who was exonerated by every investigation into him, declined a valedictory interview with the Yorkshire Post. He simply emailed the following comment: "Perhaps posterity would be a better judge".
The Labour Party stood by their man during his many controversies, before losing patience and expelling him last year when he announced he wanted a third term.
It could not take any more.
Yet it could – and should – have been so different.
The Government initially hoped that directly-elected mayors – like Mr Winter – would draw a line under previous scandals and herald a bright new future in local accountability.
Mr Winter was supposedly the one shining Labour light in what quickly emerged as a disastrous experiment with localism.
It is against this difficult backdrop that seven candidates are now fighting it out to be Mr Winter's successor, using the supplementary vote system which sees each voter given a first and second choice.
By rights, the favourite should be Sandra Holland, the Labour candidate. Her party has controlled Doncaster for the last 40 years, and the town is represented by three powerful MPs who have senior roles in Gordon Brown's government.
However, she is running a very quiet campaign and is closely associated with Mr Winter.
With the MPs' expenses scandal likely to erode Labour's support still further, Stuart Exelby has emerged as a strong candidate.
He is a long-time Labour man, a prominent trades unionist, who jumped ship along with Mr Winter to become his Deputy Mayor.
However, he has always made it plain he is his own man and does not appear to be tainted by the association.
His biggest rival is market trader Mick Maye, who is standing as an independent but has the backing of the Lib Dem, Green and Independent councillors, and whose major policy is the promise of a referendum in two years' time on whether to keep the office of mayor – which he will then campaign against.
Mr Maye's anti-politics campaign is winning support in the town.
However, there is another candidate who is running a well-organised, professional campaign and whose victory would be an incredible upset.
Step forward Tory candidate, Jonathan Wood.
While there have been prominent Conservatives to hail from Doncaster in the past, most notably Anthony Barber who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the 1970s, the growth of the mining and production industries left the town as a Labour stronghold.
But those jobs have mostly disappeared now and there are a lot more people self-employed and worried about red tape and taxation. Mr Wood, who has only served on the council for 12 months following a glittering career as a diplomat in Chicago and regeneration chief for Yorkshire Forward, knows this and is campaigning hard on this issue.
At the height of the childcare scandal, he sent a questionnaire
to 90,000 residents asking them for their priorities. Braced for a tidal wave of complaints about the shamed department, he instead found that litter, development, fear of crime, parking and potholes are the issues exercising townsfolk.
There is a chance that, with the splits on the Left and the use of second-preference votes, that Mr Wood can come through the centre and win a surprise victory. He is proud of his time in Chicago – often dubbed the Windy City and home to United States President Barack Obama – and often refers to it.
This week will see if the winds of change have now reached Doncaster. One thing is certain, however. Change is required if the mistakes of the past are to be avoided.
THE CANDIDATES
Peter Davies, English Democrats
Stuart Exelby, Community Group
Michael Felse, Independent
Sandra Holland, Labour
Michael Maye, Independent
Dave Owen, BNP
Jonathan Wood, Conservative
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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