COURT CLEARS JÁVEA MAYOR
Chulvi hits out at dirty tricks
By Jack Troughton JÁVEA Mayor José Chulvi has attacked political rivals for ‘maliciously’ accusing him of fraud over the award of town hall contracts after magistrates dismissed the ‘completely unjustified’ allegations.
The politician said the deci- sion by magistrates in Dénia ended nine months of personal suffering after ‘unfounded allegations’ were lodged by Ciudadanos.
A member of the socialist PSOE party Mr Chulvi, Jávea’s mayor since 2011, is also the party’s provincial spokesman as a member of the Alicante government.
He called a press conference on Wednesday to announce the court’s decision to dismiss “the completely unjustified complaint which was presented maliciously and without any foundation by the Ciudadanos political party in January this year”.
However, he ruled out a ‘personal vendetta’ against his opponents and preferred to keep working for the town and again standing for re-election in next year’s polls.
The mayor revealed, “This legal decision ends nine months of personal suffering, for my family and especially my wife Monica, who has had to endure really difficult moments throughout this time.
“Moments which had their origin, I would emphasise, due to the irresponsible arbitrariness of a political party that had no scruples in making a tactical and malicious use of the judicial system.”
Mr Chulvi said he was accused of crimes as serious as prevarication and embezzlement of public funds – offences that could carry a 10year jail sentence.
The Cs publically alleged award of town hall contracts had been underhand. Mr Chulvi said it was merely differences in technical criteria regarding the appropriate contracting procedures.
He said it was now shown each of the contracts was sufficiently documented. “In fact there was a legitimate contracting process.”
And he said there were technical reports that showed the work was needed, market prices were paid and they were completed to agreed stan- dards – and the politician explained: “It has also been confirmed that as mayor of Jávea I neither interceded nor gave instructions to award contracts with any specific company. In terms of contracting, I am at the end of a chain of decisions and what I am presented with are jobs done correctly and according to legitimate needs, which have to be paid. And in any case, as indicated, there was no question of sharing out contracts.”
He thanked Ximo Puig, president of the Valencia regional government, provincial colleagues and members of the local PSOE party for their support and said he had been through ‘some of the most difficult days’.
Mr Chulvi said, “I understand politics as a public service to improve the lives of people, nothing more and nothing less. Those that know me are aware of how I got here; by working, listening, being with people and acting according to my convictions. Taking corrective action when necessary and realising we are not always right and that differences in points of view can be enriching.
“During this time I have won and I have lost, but always followed the same path: honesty and respect for the institutions, the law, one’s word and the people.
“That is why I cannot join in this dirty game of some political parties who use the courts as a part of a political strategy to gain five minutes of notoriety, even if it is harming people who have acted according to the law and in the public interest. In life and in politics, not everything is justified.”
He added, “Some people have asked me if I will take legal action against my complainants. The answer is no. First of all, because anger is not part of my vocabulary, and secondly, because I respect the judicial system and I think it should only be used to resolve really important issues. Taking up valuable court time for personal vendettas is, at best, irresponsible.”