VOTERS in St Helier will have the chance to elect two senior parish officers when they go to the polls next month, in what is believed to be the first contested election for two decades.
Three candidates have been nominated to serve as Centenier for the next three years, resulting in an election that will take place on Wednesday 13 December.
One of the candidates, Mark Le Chevalier, will be seeking parishioners’ support for the second time in 18 months, having stood against Constable Simon Crowcroft at the general election in June last year.
Mr Le Chevalier claimed around 40% of the votes in the Constable election, but was defeated by Mr Crowcroft by 3,110 votes to 2,166.
The other candidates will be incumbent Centeniers Danny Scaife, who is also St Helier’s Chef de Police, and David Curtis.
It is believed that the contested election will be the first of its kind in the parish for around 20 years.
Mr Crowcroft said he was pleased to see the interest from candidates that had sparked the election.
“The role of Centenier is an onerous one and very important for criminal justice in the parish – the parish hall review system is admired internationally for the way it steers people away from a criminal record,” he said.
“We would usually be relieved to have enough people stepping forward, so to have a contested election is encouraging.”
A hustings event is expected to take place during the run-up to polling day, and will be publicised by the parish through the media and social channels.
Mr Crowcroft said voting would take place at the Town Hall between 8am and 8pm, and there would also be an opportunity for pre-poll and postal voting.
