Haverfordwest town council elections see three new members join

The elections to the Priory and Portfield Wards took place on September 19; Cllr Peter Lewis and Cllr Tasha Jones were elected to the Priory Ward and Cllr Roy Thomas to the Portfield Ward.

Returning Officer Will Bramble made the declaration of results at the Picton Centre, Haverfordwest, following the closure of polls and counting.

They aren’t the only relatively new faces on the council.

The town council recently announced two vacancies on its Castle ward, two in the Priory Ward, and one each in the Garth and Portfield wards.

An uncontested seat in the Garth ward saw independent Chris Black of High Street joining the council, with independent Ed Lewis of Castle Bank being uncontested in the Castle Ward.

The two recent elections of Priory Ward saw a three-way battle between Independents Tasha Jones and Johnny Palser, and Conservative Peter Lewis, while Portfield Ward saw a two-way challenge between Buzz McInnes and Roy Thomas.

In July, six-times mayor of Haverfordwest Alan Buckfield resigned after nearly 20 years on the town council.

Back in March, scenes of pandemonium, including multiple councillors resigning and Cllr Buckfield – as then-mayor – being called a disgrace to the town, broke out during the March town council election of the mayor for the forthcoming year.

Councillor Jill Owens, a decorated former police sergeant who was once forced to resign after falling for an armed robber, replaced Cllr Buckfield as mayor at that meeting.

Cllr Owens, had previously served as deputy mayor, a role traditionally seen as leading to becoming mayor the following year.

Despite there been no argument about Cllr Owens’ fitness for the role, the March meeting of the town council contained an agenda item considering applications for the 2023-24 mayor, with both Cllr Owens and Cllr Rhys Evans – who has since resigned from the council – listed.

After an at-times heated meeting Cllr Owens became mayor for the ’23-’24 year.