There's a rift at City Hall and the young UDP council is beginning to show its first cracks under the stress of leadership. 7NEWS has obtained a copy of a letter written to the mayor by councilor Mark King in which King gives notice of his intent to resign from the council. The letter is dated today April 5th and in it King complains to the mayor about her decision to hire a woman King identifies only as "Mrs. Pamela" for $5,333 a month.
According to King's letter, this "Mrs. Pamela" has been retained for three months for $16,000. With this King says, "we admired you as a strong team leader, Madam Mayor but I feel you are losing it." King backs up his hard words with a bold declaration that, "I give the council my notice of intent to resign...and denounce any councillorship nationally..."
Just 5 weeks into the term, that's a tough stand but as we understand it, King's hard line comes from the last week in March when the Central Party Council called Moya into a meeting and urged her not to hire a close personal friend. With Dean Barrow leading the chorus, the party warned that it amounted to nepotism, which was the same thing party supporters voted against.
And what does Mayor Moya have to say about all this? Well this evening, she told us that the charge of hiring anyone for $16,000 is completely untrue. She says the Mrs. Pamela in question works voluntarily and, though qualified, is not being paid and has not received a three month contract. Through Moya we also spoke with a number of councilors, a majority of the council who back her position, and also stressed that the King claim is untrue. And while the claim is one thing, the rift in the council is another and a developing situation that will bear close watching over the next week.
