Rye Town Council is looking for a new councillor following Rebekah Gilbert's resignation, which was announced on Tuesday, July 2. The former mayor's decision means a vacancy on the sixteen strong council.
Cllr Gilbert explained her decision to stand down. "I have decided to pursue training that, if successful, would lead to an officer role rather than an elected one, which requires a period away from elected office. This doesn’t mean I’m giving up my job as a therapist, which I love, but that I’m interested in pursuing a different angle of public service."
She has been a town councillor since 2015 and was mayor during the pandemic. Rebekah Gilbert has also played a major part in helping rescue Rye Leisure Centre. "I'm certainly not going away, and am still very much involved in Rye, my adopted home town since I arriving here at the age of eight!"
Rye mayor Andy Stuart gave this reaction to the news from his fellow councillor and one of his predecessors. "I would like to thank Rebekah for her unstinting service to Rye as a town councillor for 10 years, including 2 terms as mayor during the difficult Covid years. And I would like to thank Rebekah for all her hard work outside the town council - most recently with Rye Leisure Centre. I think not just the council but the whole town owes her, and the whole team involved at the leisure centre, a deep debt of gratitude. As she sets out to retrain I commend Rebekah for making this decision, and she has my very best wishes."
Unless 10 or more eligible electors write to the returning officer by the deadline of July 22 calling for an election, the council will use its co-opting procedure to select a new councillor. Under this procedure people can put their names forward and make their case to be selected as a councillor directly to the council. This has been the usual route for all recent vacancies.
The next full election for the town council will be in May 2027 meaning any new councillor will serve for just under two years initially.
Staying with Rye Town Council, the planning and townscape committee meets at the town hall on Monday, July 7. The meeting starts at 6:30pm.
The agenda includes an update on the neighbourhood plan.
