Timetable for 2010 elections!

This September, the people of Letchworth Garden City will be invited to vote for six of the Heritage Foundation’s 30 Governors.

The election timetable will begin after 13 May, when the Foundation will place adverts in the local press inviting potential candidates to step forward. The closing date for candidate applications is 15 July 2010.

The vote for the six ‘Elected’ Governors will happen through a postal ballot sent out to everyone listed on the Edited Register of Electors for Letchworth Garden City, together with the names of any voters who have registered directly with the Foundation after ‘opting out’ from the Edited Register.

Ballot papers containing the full list of candidates, together with a booklet containing the candidates’ election statements will be posted out to Letchworth addresses on 1 September 2010 by the Electoral Reform Society, independent scrutineers for this election.

Everyone who receives a ballot form will have until 30 September to vote for the six candidates of their choice and return their ballot paper, in the reply paid envelope provided, back to the Society.

The votes will be counted by the Society and it is envisaged that the results will be posted on the Foundation’s website www.lgchf.com on 1 October 2010.  

These six ‘Elected’ Governor positions, as set out in the organisation’s governing document ‘The Rules of Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation’,  form part of the 30 Governors. 16 of the 30 are elected by the people of, and or organisations operating in, Letchworth Garden City. Eight are nominated by clubs and societies. Two are appointed by local authorities.

The remainder of the 30, 14 in total, a minority of the Governor places, are appointed by the Foundation’s Board.

All Governors, regardless of the route by which they arrived at the Foundation, bring a vast array of experience, expertise and ideas into the organisation. They are among the first to be consulted on major issues of the day and are directly involved in electing the Foundation’s nine-strong Board of Management. The Governors, including Board Members, are volunteers and do not get paid.

Direct registrations!

Once again, these elections will be fulfilled using a list of electors purchased by the Foundation from North Hertfordshire District Council.

The Foundation will receive the details of the 14,636 electors on the ‘Edited Register’ for Letchworth Garden City. This is some 10,802 short of the names appearing on the ‘Full Register’ for the town [25,438].

As a result of the ‘Representation of the People Act 2000’, Councils up and down the country have been required to maintain two sets of lists of voters in their area - a ‘Full Register of Electors’ and an ‘Edited’ version.

This change has enshrined the right for any voter, who does not want their details to be given to any third party, to ‘opt out’ of having their details appear on the ‘Edited Register’.

The Foundation fully respects the wishes of those who have chosen to exercise their right to ‘opt out’ in this way.

Some people who did ‘opt to’ were probably not aware this would effectively mean that the Foundation would not receive their details and they could miss out on voting for the six ‘Elected’ Governors.

Don’t miss out on your chance to vote in these important elections in 2010 to appoint six Foundation Governors.

To overcome this problem, the Foundation, cordially invite the 10,802 ‘disenfranchised’ residents to register direct, solely for the purposes of the 2010 election.   

If you would like to register directly with us [or perhaps can’t remember whether you opted out or not] please download this simple form, complete it and return it or send an email to govrecruit@lgchf.com

The Foundation will openly encourage those voters affected to ‘register direct’ through a series of advertisements in the local press in the coming months up, and until the closing date for registrations, no later than the close of business on Thursday, 29 July 2010.

Recruiting candidates!

The campaign to recruit as many candidates as possible to stand in these elections is planned from 13 May 2010 with adverts appearing in the local press.

On the last occasion these elections were held, in 2005, 16 people ‘signed up’ as candidates.

Further information for prospective candidates will be published on this website and made available at that time.

In the meantime, if you would like to record your interest in receiving details at that time, please send your full name, address and postcode in writing to us today, by email at govrecruit@lgchf.com or by letter to:

Alan Howard,
Director of Marketing & PR,
Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation,
FREEPOST HI174,
Suite 401,
The Spirella Building,
LETCHWORTH GARDEN CITY
SG6 4GW.

Use your vote!

To encourage and promote the return of completed ballot papers, adverts will run in the local press during September. In 2005, 19,000 ballot papers were issued and 5,295 [27.7%] returned.

If you would like any further information on these elections please email govrecruit@lgchf.com or call 01462 476057.

Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation is a charitable Industrial and Provident Society. Registered No. 28211R.