Why I'm Backing Paul Maslin4Mayor By Councillor John Muldoon

There is a rumour circulating that I am not serious about being the next Mayor of Lewisham. That my campaign is about running interference, to increase the chances of another candidate. People can make up their own minds. What I say is that I am in earnest. Every Labour member will be getting a leaflet from me this week through the post. Those who say my campaign is about doing the bare minimum to assist someone else need to check the facts.

Granted, my support for the Millwall CPO will strike some as surprising, given the controversy surrounding it. One of the reasons I decided to stand in this contest was the expectation that no other candidate would support the Council’s policy and record on this issue. I believe that it is important for someone to defend the Council’s actions against biased, one-sided opposition, even if this does appear in the pages of a national, broadsheet newspaper. The Charity Commission has dismissed the Guardian’s allegations against the Surrey Canal Sports Foundation, the charity that Renewal set up to deliver the Sports Village in the New Bermondsey development. Sadly, it has yet to report this. Instead, in response, the Guardian has embarked upon a damage limitation exercise. It seems to be anticipating that the Freedom of Information Tribunal will fail to uphold the complaint that Millwall has made against the Council for refusing to disclose certain information. Further, it looks like it accepts that the Dyson inquiry, when it reports, will not have found anything to support its suspicions. (For more on this see here)

The Council’s reputation has clearly been damaged by this coverage. I am standing to defend and repair that reputation. The Labour Party has run Lewisham Council for many years. The Labour Party has made the Council a force for good. This is a testament to the selfless efforts of many hundreds of ordinary party members, some who were councillors, sustained, year in and year out, through good times and bad, over many decades. Thanks to them, the Council has made the lives of its residents better in so many ways. This is the reality. It is not, despite the inferences of vested interest, a self-serving corrupt organisation that operates in a way that would shame a banana republic.

The Council deserves to have a Labour politician who will defend it against such assaults, however difficult it may be.

Some of you will, understandably, have a few doubts about my campaign. Yes, it has been slow to start. My expectation, at the beginning of this Council administration, was that the selection process to choose Steve Bullock’s successor, should he decide to stand down, would begin in the Autumn of 2017. I must admit that the decision to run the contest over the Summer holiday when many people, including myself, would be on holiday, took me by surprise. Due to my business, family and Cabinet responsibilities, it was not possible for me to decide a year or two ago that I was definitely running. So I could not ask for people’s endorsement when I was not sure if I would be able to run when the contest was called. I was able to make a few tentative preparations. The truth is that I didn’t decide to run until the letters from the Labour Party arrived on 15th July announcing the start of the process. I had my interview with the selection panel the evening before I went on holiday. I did what I could from a campsite in France, with very poor phone and internet signals. It’s been flat out since I returned two weeks ago.

I know that I have support. If you would like to endorse me, either publicly or privately, then please get in touch. Do remember that many people pledged support for the other candidates months, if not years ago, long before I announced my candidacy.

Ballot papers should begin to arrive on 1st September. I urge all members to delay casting your vote until after the hustings. If you are unable to get along to one of them, please ask someone you know who went for some feedback. I call upon all the other candidates to join me in making this plea. Surely, no one would want to encourage people to vote before the candidates were exposed to the challenge of the hustings process. I think that candidates should expect to have to present themselves in person to Party members before they ask them to vote.

Thank you for taking the time to read this message.

Paul Maslin

Why are you voting for Paul Maslin?

Paul Maslin with Councillor John Muldoon

I’m backing Paul Maslin because I believe he will make the best Mayor of Lewisham. Since I met Paul almost 20 years ago, I’ve been impressed by his determination and resilience, and, above all, his modesty. Paul grew up in a family where selfless service to others was the touchstone – the Labour Party is his natural home. Apart from three years at university and a year volunteering overseas, Paul’s lived in Lewisham his whole life.

Paul’s built a transatlantic business, starting in Deptford, starting from scratch, whilst raising a family, being a Labour Councillor and serving twice in Sir Steve Bullock’s Cabinet, holding two major and challenging portfolios.

I remember clearly the moment in 2010 when Paul phoned me to tell me that Sir Steve had asked him to be the Cabinet Member for Resources. Paul told me he had accepted. I couldn’t think of a better person to tackle what was to become the Coalition’s relentless attack on Labour-controlled local government. This was uncharted territory – would it be Thatcherism Mark 2? Would the LibDems tone things down? Paul calmly started to prepare Lewisham Council for the onslaught to come. Doing his best to protect those services most needed by our most vulnerable residents. Because that’s what Labour stands for in Paul’s mind.

And Sir Steve clearly was pleased with Paul’s achievements in that role when he asked him to take over the Children & Young People portfolio in 2014. To provide political leadership to education and children’s social care, at a time when Tory ideology threatens all that Lewisham Council had created over the years.

Paul has never shied away from delivering the difficult messages, even if some don’t always agree with them.

Let’s be clear, we aren’t choosing someone who’ll have a dozen special advisers and spin doctors to micromanage the workload. We’re selecting someone who can and who will make tough – sometimes unpopular - decisions and stick by them, not someone who’ll flip-flop in response to the latest press coverage. Someone once said “True character is revealed in the choices a human being makes under pressure - the greater the pressure, the deeper the revelation”. Paul has experienced great pressure, from one particular journalist, from football supporters’ Twitter accounts. He hasn’t wavered. Paul is someone who knows when and from whom to seek advice. When to speak, and when to listen. Paul Maslin will be a great Mayor.

If you want someone who gets their picture in the local paper every week, Paul might not be the candidate for you. That’s not the main qualification for this role - we have a chair of Council who is our civic ambassador. After all, we’re not promoting the next Hollywood blockbuster, our Mayor will be too busy running Lewisham Council.

Being an executive Mayor demands a skillset unlike any other role. Someone who can and will lead, not someone who says they lead. Our local leader. Someone with vision. Someone with integrity. Someone respected by and who respects all our communities. Someone with the competence to steer Lewisham over the coming years, years of great austerity for Lewisham Council. Someone with the agility to deliver great change for Lewisham, whilst never forgetting our duty to the weak, the vulnerable, the poor. Someone ready to seize the opportunities the next Labour Government will bring, whenever that may be. That’s why I’m backing Paul Maslin for Mayor."

Councillor John Muldoon

You can read more about my views on my blog : http://themaslinmemo.blogspot.co.uk/

You can follow me on Twitter @PaulJMas

If you’d like to get in touch you can email me Maslin4Mayor@gmail.com