Council replacing one misconduct councillor with another
Glasgow Shettleston’s MSP, John Mason, has hit out at plans to replace Councillor George Redmond as chair of SPT with fellow Glasgow Councillor Jim Coleman who, alongside Redmond, was found guilty of misconduct by the charities regulator, OSCR.
Following a Glasgow City Council reshuffle, Labour leader Gordon Matheson has removed Redmond and Chair of SPT, which comes with a £20k p/a salary, and is proposing to replace him with Baillieston Councillor, Jim Coleman.
Mr Mason has written to the Chief Executive of Glasgow City Council, George Black, to question the decision and ask what training the Councillors have had following the damning report by OSCR, which found them guilty of “misconduct” and slammed their actions as “wholly inappropriate”
SNP MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, John Mason, said:
“For some time now I have been calling for both the councillors found guilty of misconduct – George Redmond and Jim Coleman – to be removed as Glasgow’s reps on outside bodies. Yet now Labour is proposing to replace one with the other as chair of SPT. You couldn’t make this stuff up!
“My first reaction is to feel sorry for SPT. It is a perfectly reputable body charged with improving public transport in the West of Scotland. So what has it done to deserve this? Why should SPT be made a dumping ground for Glasgow Labour councillors found guilty of misconduct?
“Members of the public will be mystified by how all this works. Even if a Labour councillor has to be chair, can the other 11 local authorities not find a more appropriate councillor who hasn’t been found guilty of financial misconduct?
“We know that the chief executive of GERA was paid £500,000 which he was not entitled to under the watch of Councillors Coleman and Redmond. What confidence can the citizens of Glasgow and Strathclyde have in SPT when the organisation’s budget is looked after by such councillors who are so tainted with misconduct?”