Nueva Javea Councillors resign after being accused of betraying ‘trust and loyalty’

IN an unprecedented dramatic statement, Nueva Javea elected Councillors Juan Planelles and Francisco Catala, announced they were quitting the party and in future would be known as Grupo Mixto, a term for an independent political group.

In an official letter of resignation to the town council they said that the NJ split was due to, “irreconcilable differences with its board of directors,” but the EWN has been given access to a leaked document that clearly shows the party is in an angry mood and potentially on the brink of self-destruction with a rapidly diminishing membership and no representation at council level.

The correspondence in our possession is addressed to “colleagues and members of Nueva Javea” in which NJ General Secretary Ricardo Marquez accuses Planelles and Catala of, “betraying the trust and loyalty of their comrades and blatant disrespect and disregard for the opinions of the legitimate representatives of the party.”

The lengthy document goes on to suggest that since they were elected, the two councillors have become mavericks and despite repeated requests and official summons, they have not attended any NJ board meetings which has caused, “deep unease and distaste amongst board members in being isolated from our elected representatives after all the efforts, dedication and enthusiasm that awarded them the positions they now occupy.”

After this years disastrous election results in which the NJ only polled 936 votes compared to 1,749 in 2007, reducing their town hall representation from four to two seats and ironically giving NJ party leader and former councillor Ana Vassbinder the cold shoulder, Planelles and Catala were accused of failing to follow the NJ boards decision to pursue possible links with other independent groups in an attempt to create a majority alliance.

In a move that was to inflame matters even further, at the inaugural council meeting, the two NJ councillors decided to give their support to the current PSOE Mayor Jose Chulvi a decision according to Secretary Marquez, “paradoxically puts the NJ in opposition to their own councillors.” A situation now rectified by the double resignation, leaving the NJ totally outside the political arena.

In response to the allegations, Councillor Fransisco Catala told the EWN in an exclusive interview, “We don’t want to make war with a dead party but at last we are happy with the actual situation:  Local Government is doing things the good way, and each day we are more than happy to have made the decision to support Mayor José Chulvi. Although we have been accused of betrayal and the party doesn’t support our decisions, our one big wish is to build a better future for Javea.

“Things have to change and we believe this is happening right now. Juan and I accept we had a bad election result, but that is now history. Unfortunately certain people inside the NJ are still living in the past.”

EWN Exclusive By Benny Davis 

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