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Referendum on Bury mayor
3/ 7/2008
THOUSANDS of voters in Prestwich, Radcliffe, Whitefield and Unsworth are going to the polls today (Thursday) to vote on whether Bury should have an elected mayor.
As the Advertiser went to press, voters were preparing to decide if the borough will be the first in Greater Manchester to have an American-style directly elected mayor in a referendum.
The electorate were asked the question on referendum day: "Are you in favour of the proposal for Bury Metropolitan Borough Council to be run in a new way, which includes a mayor, who will be elected by the voters of that borough, to be in charge of the council’s services and to lead Bury Metropolitan Council and the community which it serves?"
The campaign to have a referendum in Bury was run by Prestwich campaigner Geoffrey Berg (pictured left), who got 8,500 signatures on a petition for the measure.
Mr Berg claims that, if the referendum returns a yes vote, the elected mayor would have the power to kill off the plans.
But St Mary’s Liberal Democrat councillor Richard Baum (pictured right) said the two issues are unconnected and claims the mayoral position would be a ‘colossal waste of money’.
Figures obtained by the Advertiser indicate the price of having a mayor in office could cost the taxpayer £250,000 every year.
If the referendum produces a ‘yes’ vote, the mayoral election will take place on October 16.
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