Deputy Lindsay de Sausmarez will have found her first task as President of Policy and Resources an easy one.
All four of her nominees for the vacant roles on her P&R committee were elected unopposed this morning.
She had wanted deputies Gavin St Pier, Jonathan Le Tocq, Charles Parkinson, and Steve Falla to work with her on developing policies for the States to follow over the coming four year term. Her nominations were all seconded by Deputy Mark Helyar.
No-one else was nominated, and there was no debate, with the States secret ballot quickly confirming the appointments that Deputy de Sausmarez had wanted.
Deputy St Pier and Deputy Parkinson received 31 votes each in the secret ballot with Deputy Falla receiving 30.
Deputy Le Tocq received 35 votes.
There were no spoilt papers but two blank papers were submitted.
The Bailiff declared “all duly elected to office”.
Earlier in the morning, Deputy Neil Inder with support from Deputy Haley Camp, had lodged a motion to enable questions to be put to any candidates for P&R.
He had said those being elected onto the States senior committee needed to be challenged, as other committee Presidents will be later this week when they are chosen.
“This motion merely asked members to vary that rule and allow a short period of questions and answers to that team, and to quote from an exchange of emails overnight where I shared with this with members and this from Deputy Camp – ‘the P&R members are held to at least the same import as committee Presidents, as evidenced through the pay allocations as one example. And yet there is no scope to ask them to discuss their motivations etc, for wishing to sit on the most senior committee (and all that entails), except through a prepared speech. Whereas committee President candidates will be challenged to think on their feet’.
“10 minutes of time for candidates. At least 40 minutes of your time today at best, or 60 or 70 minutes if there are more than four candidates to satisfy you as the new assembly that you have scrutinised your top team and you are satisfied that you have made the right decision to set this new assembly on its path for the next four years.
“What reasonable or open candidates who wants to advance transparency and openness, would vote against being challenged for their important position.”
Only 11 deputies backed deputies Inder and Camp’s proposal with 21 voting against., but ultimately it did not matter as there were no other nominations for the seats on P&R.
As only four candidates were nominated for the four P&R roles there were no speeches and the Bailiff immediately opened the secret ballot which confirmed deputies St Pier, Parkinson, Le Tocq, and Falla on P&R along with President Deputy de Sausmarez.