Question time: John looks back on the highs and lows

I dreaded the Annual General Meetings when the Unionists grabbed everything and didn’t allow me or my party colleagues onto any of the committees. I didn’t know this was illegal at the time and indeed the council was later taken to court for this practice and judged to be guilt of discrimination. It was silly really because the council could always overturn any committee recommendation.

When did you first cause controversy?

During the first two months I sat there and depended on my colleague Sean Farren to keep things right. At the third monthly meeting there were a lot of opposition to plans to do things in Portrush and I described it as a ‘town of no’s’. The following week the local paper carried seven letters calling for my immediate dismissal. I consulted the late Sam McFeely who was an independent councillor and his view was that bad news was better than no news!

Which characters do you remember best from the early days?

Colonel Nobby Clarke was a big man with lots of stories to tell of his exploits during the Second World War. He was a great character and never dabbled in sectarian politics. I was really sorry when he passed away.

Captain Bob Mitchell shook things up when he joined the council and began pulling rank on his superior officer Colonel Clarke and I enjoyed getting the two to fall out over trivial things like the depth of Portrush Harbour.

What is your greatest regret?

Spending so much time away from home on council business and failing to realise fully just how much pressure was on my wife and three children particularly at times when the police were warning about the danger I was in from paramilitaries. If I was to live life again I am sure I would want to spend more time with my family because children grow up so fast and leave home before you know it. I also thank God for my safety.

What do you regard as your greatest achievement?

Representing people who needed someone to speak for them whether it was about benefits, housing, planning, education or indeed any other problem involving government departments has been a way of life for me. Helping people to put their lives together again after they had some serious setback in life and God knows there have been a few of those who have overcome adversity and are now very happy.

Who has been your greatest support during your 33 years on Coleraine Council?

Apart from my wife and family my party colleagues who have remained faithful to the SDLP through goods times and bad times; who have never flinched from doing their work and have always put others before their own personal careers. I will miss Maura Hickey and Gerry McLaughlin an awful lot but they will be joined by Roisin Loftus who brings ten years of full-time experience heading up my two constituency offices in Kilrea and Limavady which are full-time and very busy.

What will you do with the time?

In fact there will be no time because the Assembly is now beginning to function as it should have done in the past. As SDLP spokesperson on the Environment and Deputy Speaker I simply don’t have any free time. I am also on the Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee and that is very demanding. I serve also on the International Development Committee which is exploring ways in which the Assembly can influence change in the developing countries, particularly in Africa. I was recently appointed to the EU Committee of the Regions where I sit on the Education Committee.

What has been your proudest moment?

In 2001 when I was mayor I travelled to Malawi and together with David McClarty and signed the agreement which brought into being the Zomba linkage with Coleraine. That project has brought fundamental change to the lives of many people in that part of Africa and my deepest gratitude to all those who have made it possible. Since then my wife Anne has been to Malawi on several occasions and worked in one of the most dangerous and poorest rural parts of the country where she has built an orphanage and school for bush children as well as funded a number of women’s enterprises which has created jobs and wealth for people who otherwise would never have received any help from the outside world. At one stage it wasn’t possible to get around our home because there were literally hundreds of wedding dresses getting boxed to ship to her adopted country. Again I want to express my gratitude to those who backed her.

Are your links with the council now finally broken?

No, as an assembly member I intend to have regular meetings with the Chief Executive and especially the officers involved in economic development because the Assembly and the council need to singing from the same hymn sheet if we are to deliver for East Derry, one of the worst areas hit by unemployment and underinvestment.