Questions for Dobson on her election pledge

It is now over seven whole months since the Assembly and Council elections of May 2011. The entire year of 2011 has now passed and we are in 2012.

Yet over seven months on and despite seeing the dawning of a new year Jo-Anne Dobson has still not kept her election promise to not be a ‘double jobber’ and has still not kept her election promise to stand down as a councillor. This despite several statements to the press since the election that she would be stepping down soon.

This is an unacceptable state of affairs. After all Jo-Anne Dobson used the issue of ‘double jobbing’ to attack others – even issuing critical press releases about other politicians on this very matter. Yet as we enter 2012 she still clings on to both jobs.

By clinging on to both jobs as she has done, Mrs Dobson remains entitled to the allowances that a councillor receives. So can she tell us how much her failure to keep this election promise has benefited her financially over the last seven months?

It has already been reported in the local press that the UUP in Craigavon has experienced a falling out over who should replace her.

But the real issue here is not internal divisions within the UUP. The real issue is Mrs Dobson’s failure to keep a pledge she made during her campaign. After all if she were to step down now – with no further clinging on – that act would force a conclusion to the co-option process. Is it really the case that Mrs Dobson has placed internal UUP divisions above her election promise to the people? Surely we have a right to know.