Do you fancy getting involved? Road Works A7

 As many of you know the local council elections are to be held in May of this year.

This will be the first election since 2003 that I will not be standing in. 

The system in Spain is in many ways more democratic than in the UK. (I think)! Each political party has to draw up a list of local residents ( some parties do not even ensure all their candidates are local!). The members of the party then meet and agree an order for their candidates where No 1 would be the Mayor if they won the election and on down to No 13. The votes when tallied after TH election work on a form of proportional representation eg the party which wins the most seats forms the administration in our case that is 7 seats roughly 60% of the votes cast.

When I first stood I was number 6 and we won a majority so I had a seat on the council however our list had a total of 16 names and the others were merely supporters. As you know since then I kept getting higher on the list and ended up at No 2 as deputy mayor!

I have been asked by our mayor if I know of any English speaking residents who may want to support the current party at the next elections, by standing for election. I know of one or two who have expressed an interest but I am posting on here to see if anyone else fancies getting involved.

Your linguistic skills are not really important as we have 4 bi lingual speakers in the Town Hall and I have managed all this time with my limited command of Spanish! 

If you are interested, or know any local resident who is interested, please get in touch. I can answer any questions or issues you may have.

It is a huge opportunity to help the community even if just to support your town hall.

Road Works on new motorway/A7

Due to work on the new motorway there are to be some interruptions to normal traffic flow for approx 15 days starting tomorrow. From my understanding they are reducing the motorway to 2 single lanes and cutting the road at Pk 686. The advice is if travelling to Palaces Zurgena or La Concepcion you drive along the A7 towards Almeria and access the A334 at junction Pk 682 link to the A7 at Overa.

Rental Available?

 Asking for a friend of our ex Mayor.

Does anyone know of a villa available to rent for at least one year minimum 2 bedrooms bit of land and preferably with a swimming pool? It can be in Zurgena or Arboleas.

Any suggestions please drop me an email or message. Jimszurgena@gmail.com or or +44 7368 990809.

Lights Avenida Poetas area

 The street lights in the area of Avenida Poetas have been out for almost a week now.

They attended this morning but were unable to fix it but they are trying again over the weekend.

Last Reminder. UPDATE 13th January

This is a final reminder regarding your voting rights. 

If you have received the communication from the office of statistics then you are already registered and able to vote this coming May in the local election. 

If you have not received any communication and you have lived here for more than 2 years please contact the Town Hall to register. If you want any help then contact my colleague Jose Manuel whose is fluently bi lingual and is employed in the Town Hall to assist non Spanish speakers. His number is 687531499.

If you do not register by this Thursday you will lose your right to vote!

If you have already received the letter from the INS you need to sign and return it asap.

Jose and some of the Town Hall staff will be going door to door on Sunday to check whether people have done what they need to to be able to vote as they have extended the deadline to Monday. If you need to check or need clarification give Jose a call on the above number. The6 will obviously not be able to visit every home!

3 Kings Procession

For information; as usual the 3 Kings procession will take place in Zurgena leaving Plaza del Olmo at 1830 Thursday evening and visiting various parts of the village. 

Your Vote 2023. URGENT!!

 A reminder there are less than two weeks left to ensure you have a voice in the next municipal elections by registering at the Town Hall. 

As long as you have lived in Spain and been on the Padron for more than 2 years you are eligible to vote for the people who will form the next council and control the budgets for the next 4 years!

It is the only election you are entitled to vote in in Spain but they are the most important. For the past 16 years I have been honoured to serve on the council and to help ensure that the wishes of the expat community are considered. We have been fortunate in that all of those councils sought to please and consider the non Spanish residents and to help them in their life’s  in Spain.

The candidates for election have not yet been revealed but when they are you will have chances to examine their credentials and manifesto’s and vote for those you feel will best provide for all the citizens.

It is hugely important and I urge everyone who qualifies to call into the Town Hall with their passport and your NIE for identification, and register. If anyone has any problems just let me know but it should be a very simple process. Date for registration closes 15th January!! 

Please let everyone you know understand the short time frame available to register.