Wells to seek selection for Assembly election | Latest Newry News, Newry Sport and Newry Business for Newry City

Wells to seek selection for Assembly election

South Down MLA Jim Wells has announced that he will seek the DUP nomination to stand in the forthcoming Assembly elections.

DUP MLA Jim Wells

DUP MLA Jim Wells

He was first elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 1982 at the age of 25. At the time of his election he was the youngest MLA ever to be elected to Stormont.

He was re-elected in 1998, 2003, 2007 and 2011. He served as a Councillor for 17 years, including a decade on Down Council from 2001 to 2011.

During his 21 years at Stormont he held a large number of senior Assembly positions including Health Minister, Deputy Speaker, Assembly Commission member and Chairman of the Health Committee.

Wells has previously served on the boards of the Schomberg Society in Kilkeel, the St Patrick’s Centre, Downpatrick and the Mournes Advisory Council. He was also the Chairman of the Housing Benefit Review Board for Down District for ten years.

If re-elected in May he will become the Father of the House – the title given to the longest serving member at Stormont.

He told Newry Times, “I have had the privilege of representing South Down at Stormont for 21 years and have also served as a councillor for 17 years.

“I was greatly encouraged to stand again by the unanimous support I received from the DUP’s South Down Association and the many messages from right across the constituency urging me to put the name forward.

Jim added, “The final decision on who stands for the Assembly election in South Down rests with the DUP Party Officers. I can confirm that they are presently considering my application to stand for the Party.”

Short URL: https://newrytimes.com/?p=54579

Posted by on Jan 22 2016. Filed under Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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