Council election: DUP set to remain biggest party in Ards and North Down, but Alliance hoping to make gains
Alliance have made recent ground in Ards and North Down, taking a seat in each of the seven DEAs in 2014.
Their aim will be to hold on to their seats in each of those seven DEA while also strengthening in Bangor West, Holywood and Clandeboye, and Newtownards where they are fielding two candidates.
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Hide AdConnie Egan is one of the new candidates hoping to boost not just Alliance numbers on council, but also give a better female representation.
In the lead up to the election she tweeted: “Only 16 out of 68 candidates standing for @ANDborough are women. This simply isn’t good enough. @allianceparty candidates in the borough are 50/50, we worked hard as an association to achieve this. More needs to be done to address the barriers women face to entering politics.”
Connie who has campaigned for marriage equality in Northern Ireland said she would love to see the council promoting more LGBT+ events in the borough.
A steady Alliance presence on Ards and North Down council may reflect a more liberal inclination in voters in the area, though it’s hard to see any nationalist other than the SDLP’s Joe Boyle sitting in this unionist dominated chamber.
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Hide AdArds and North Down is a staunchly Christian council reflected by the fact that meetings begin with prayers.
Veteran politician Mr Boyle has been a mainstay on the council, also running unsuccessfully for MLA since 2003.
The party recognises there are no gains to be made in Ards and North Down as Mr Boyle remains the only candidate they’ve fielded across seven electoral areas.
Sinn Fein similarly aren’t going gung ho to crack the council area, fielding just two candidates – Murdoch McKibbin in Ards Peninsula and Kieran Maxwell in Bangor West.
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Hide AdThe DUP currently have 17 seats on Ards and North Down council and few would predict a major change in that power base.
The next highest represented party is the UUP with nine seats and Alliance with seven seats.
Rather than a straight fight between the UUP and Alliance for those 16 seats, it’s likely both parties will retain their numbers and seek to pick up extra seats from Independent candidates and the likes of the Green Party and the TUV.
A total of 68 candidates will be vying for 40 seats in the council area.
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Hide AdBangor Central will be the most contested DEA within Ards and North Down with 13 councillors vying for six seats.
Given the DUP’s position of power they have been able to field a new candidate for the Bangor Central – politics student James Cochrane, who is running alongside Alistair Cathcart and Wesley Irvine.
Another one to watch in Bangor Central is Noelle Robinson who was elected on to council as a Green Party candidate but has since become an Independent councillor.
She left the party following comments from Green Party leader Steven Agnew when he said that he did not see the point in making it illegal to be a member of a terrorist organisation.
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Ards Peninsula
6 candidates to be elected out of 10
Robert Hugh Adair, DUP
Joe Boyle, SDLP
Angus Carson, UUP
Matt Davey, UKIP
Nigel Edmund, DUP
Lorna McAlpine, Alliance
Murdoch McKibbin, Sinn Fein
Tim Mullen, Cons and Unionist
Michele Anne Strong, Green
Eddie Thompson, DUP
Bangor Central
6 candidates to be elected out of 13
Craig Blaney, UUP
Alistair John Cathcart, DUP
James Cochrane, DUP
Karen Douglas, Alliance
Stephen Dunlop, Green
Ian Henry, UUP
Wesley Graham Irvine, DUP
Maria Lourenco, Independent
Ray McKimm, Independent
John Montogomery, UKIP
Gavan Reynolds, Independent
Noelle Robinson, Independent
Frank Shivers, Cons and Unionist
Bangor West
5 candidates to be elected out of 8
Connie Egan, Alliance
Ben English, Cons and Unionist
Jennifer Mary Gilmour, DUP
Alan Graham, DUP
Barry McKee, Green
Kieran Maxwell, Sinn Fein
Marion Smith, UUP
Scott Wilson, Alliance
Bangor East and Donaghadee
6 candidates to be elected out of 9
Mark Brooks, UUP
David Alan Chambers, UUP
Bill Keery, DUP
Paul Leeman, Cons and Unionist
Janice McArthur, DUP
Peter James Martin, DUP
Hannah Irwin McNamara, Green
Tom Smith, Independent
Gavin Walker, Alliance
Comber
5 candidates to be elected out of 9
Ricky Bamford, Green
Stephen James Cooper, TUV
Trevor Cummings, DUP
Robert Gibson, DUP
Deborah Girvan, Alliance
John Montgomery, DUP
Michael Palmer, UUP
John Sloan, Independent
Philip Smith, UUP
Holywood and Clandeboye
5 candidates to be elected out of 8
Roberta Dunlop, DUP
Stephen Gordon Dunne, DUP
Gillian Greer, Alliance
Tim Lemon, UUP
Carl McClean, UUP
Andrew Muir, Alliance
Andrew Turner, Cons and Unionist
Rachel Elizabeth Woods, Green
Newtownards
7 candidates to be elected out of 11
Naomi Armstrong, DUP
Paul Robert James Corry, UKIP
Ian Dickson, UUP
Colin Kennedy, DUP
Ben King, Independent
Maurice Macartney, Green
Alan Joseph McDowell, Alliance
Stephen McIlveen, DUP
Nick Mathison, Alliance
Jimmy Menagh, Independent
Richard Smart, UUP