The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Many new faces in prospect at council chamber
Setting the stage for forthcoming contest to decide make-up of Angus Council
There will be a lot of new faces in the Angus Council chamber after the local elections next month.
Almost a third of the current crop of councillors have decided not to stand for re-election.
Meanwhile, it remains to be seen how many of the others will be forced to bow out when the votes are cast and counted.
Among those who are not standing again are the SNP pairing of council leader Iain Gaul and deputy leader Paul Valentine.
It leads to the interesting question of who would become the council leader if the SNP were to retain control in Angus.
Or the area could see the return of an Angus Alliance-type coalition, formed by Independents and other political parties, to keep the SNP out of power.
A total of 53 candidates have decided to stand for the 28 council seats, with some wards much more competitive than others.
The Arbroath West, Letham and Friockheim ward and the Monifieth and Sidlaw ward both have five candidates competing for four seats.
Meanwhile the Arbroath East and Lunan ward has eight candidates vying for just three seats.
The SNP is fielding the greatest number of candidates out of the political parties with 14.
The number was 15 before Brechin and Edzell candidate Paul Wright resigned from the SNP over social media posts he’d made.
Mr Wright is now standing as an Independent.
The Conservatives have nine candidates.
The Liberal Democrats have eight contenders.
Labour have seven people seeking a council seat.
There are 15 Independent candidates, including seven councillors from the past term.
There will be one fewer council candidate elected this year than there was in 2012.
This is due to recommendations made by the Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland.
The boundaries of the Arbroath East and West wards have been changed. Friockheim and Colliston now go with Arbroath West instead of East, and the number of councillors in Arbroath East and Lunan is dropping from four to three.
Voting is on Thursday May 4, and the count will take place the following day at the Saltire Centre in Arbroath.