SDLP’s Savage selected as new chair of council

SDLP’s Savage selected as new chair of council

25 May 2022

NEWRY councillor Michael Savage has been selected as the district’s new first citizen.

He will officially become Newry, Mourne and Down Council’s new chairman next month with Downpatrick Sinn Fein councillor Oonagh Hanlon being widely tipped as his successor.

Last week, the local authority’s SDLP members chose Cllr Savage to become the new chairman with his appointment confirmed following a secret ballot when he saw off a challenge from Crotlieve councillor Karen McKevitt.

Last December, Cllr Savage missed out on being one of the SDLP’s two Assembly election candidates when his party opted for Mrs McKevitt to run alongside sitting MLA Colin McGrath.

However, she was unsuccessful in succeeding her party colleague, Paula Bradley, in the Stormont poll.

The local council’s top posts are decided using the D’Hondt method which dictates positions according to a party’s electoral strength. 

In addition to the chair and vice-chair positions, the D’Hondt system also selects which political parties will hold the top two positions on each of the local authority’s influential statutory committees.

Councillors are taking part in a mock annual meeting tomorrow night when the parties will select their representatives for the various statutory committees.

When the process is completed, the formal annual meeting takes place on June 6 and given that all the parties know who their representatives on the various committees will be, the process will be straightforward.

Cllr Savage will be the last chairman of the current council term with voters across the district due to go to the polls next May to select Newry, Mourne and Down Council’s new 41 councillors.

Sinn Fein could potentially increase its current number of seats following the election but, if the status quo remains, it will still select the new chairman next June.

This will pave the way for Cllr Hanlon to become the district’s new first citizen if, as widely expected, she retains her seat in the Downpatrick district electoral area.