James Ockenden appointed to District Council.... almost
John Lee will announce the appointed District Council members today so I thought I’d add to the mounting excitement with a previously untold story of how I came within a broom hair of getting appointed by the Chief Executive myself.
Spoiler: I am not going to be on that list announced later. But perhaps my experience offers a little insight into how those appointees were selected and also on the timing.
Due to a gentlemen’s agreement on disclosure I can’t divulge names or parties involved, which is a shame as this would make it all the more entertaining.
Still, it’s a pretty crazy story.
Our tale begins in the aftermath of the April Wen Wei Po attacks on me and my family. I was, of course, outraged at the dangerous garbage written about us (much of which came straight out of my police file, giving clear fingerprints for who ordered and resourced the attack) and, with no legal recourse available1, I launched immediate damage control: basically going through my Rolodex and asking for support from every pro-government figure and official I knew.
Most ignored it (you find out who your friends are when state media calls you a spy), some wrote back “sorry, good luck” and one, bless them, came through with something entirely bold and shocking: I should simply ignore Wen Wei Po’s rantings, they said, as unsophisticated nonsense2. In the meantime, this person had some quota to recommend District Council candidates directly to the Chief Executive. Would I be interested in being appointed as a District Councillor?
I took this email as definitive proof of Elon Musk’s theory that the universe is a simulation which always chooses the most entertaining outcome.
Of course I was interested.
Even in the cut-down “consultative body” proposed by the government, individual councillors would still have a lot of sway on the local transport and environmental issues. And it would be pretty funny to be put up for appointment by a top government advisor just weeks after being called a spy in state media.
And so, on 22 May I met with one of the most senior government officials for coffee and to discuss strategy.
To put this into date context, the government announced the proposed changes to the District Council on 2 May 2023, with a brief public consultation to run until 16 May.
Evidently, even then, the process was assumed to run pretty much as the government originally proposed: on 18 May, I’d seen a photoshoot taking place in Tamar Park and, when I enquired of the subjects the purpose, they said it was for the district council appointment. “Oh, you’re running in the election?” I’d asked. “No no, she will be appointed” said the civil servant running the shoot3. The young lady being photographed had been selected by the Education Secretary as one of their “quota” for appointment. So the appointment process was very much in full swing even at that stage.
Over coffee on 22 May, my new benefactor agreed I would be a candidate for appointment in my district, notwithstanding a panel interview and various other checks and balances.
And on 15 June, I had a high-level panel interview. I’d love to share who was present – let’s just say it was an absolutely remarkable room for an “enemy of the state” to find oneself facing. The assembled asked good questions and had a pretty good grasp of the local transport issues, but the discussion must remain confidential: one thing was clear though, the panel was interviewing dozens of candidates and had a long list to get through over several days of work.
And then, on 30 July, I was given the brush-off: I’d not made the cut. If I had to bet, I’d say the lists from each “quota” individual went up to the CE for final approval mid-July and were yayed-or-nayed at that point.
But to be fair, I could also have been rejected by the panel itself: as confident as I was speaking on local issues, I probably gave very inappropriate answers over deeper national issues and, bottom line, I’m not the charming political type who can woo a crowd.
Either way, it’s fair to say the lists from the “quota” folk were fairly complete by early August.
So that was the end of that: I then decided to run as an independent candidate, and we all know how that turned out.
I’ll read the appointed lists with interest later: one thing not clear is whether these will be full-time councillors. I had very much committed to working this as a full-time job, whether elected or appointed, and it was clear to me that this was required to be appointed. But government has since hinted that “doctors and lawyers” would be appointed: will they be giving up their lucrative practices to work in a small unappreciated office for $37k a month? If not, how much work can we expect from them?
I, for one, intend to test them, daily, on their response to local issues and I hope Transit Jam readers will do the same 😝.
you don’t sue state media for libel unless you want to be immediately arrested on vague national security charges and held on bail indefinitely
Nice if you can: unfortunately such editorials usually come with real-world consequences. But that’s enother story.
people tell me stuff they shouldn’t when I’m walking around with Oscar: the stroller and “exhausted full-time dad” look is my equivalent of Columbo’s raincoat