PERSONAL
I was born in 1943, am a life long resident of Bangor and attended Trinity Primary School and Bangor Grammar School.
I am a former civil servant in the Department of Education and took a part-time degree at the Open University and in 1973 left the civil service to do a full-time Masters degree in Politics at the University of Strathclyde.
After I completed my Masters at Strathclyde I returned to Northern Ireland to take up a lecturing post in Omagh Technical College. In 1979 I transferred to the College of Business Studies, Belfast as a lecturer in government and economics. For the next 25 years I worked as a lecturer / senior lecturer at BIFHE.
In 1979 I married Anne (Councillor Anne Wilson) whom I met when studying in Scotland. We have two children Scott born in 1980 and Allan 1982 along with two children Roy and Caroline from Anne's previous marriage.
I have chaired most of the major committees in North Down Council and had the great honour of being Mayor of North Down in 1993/4. Anne also became Mayor 10 years later.
POLITICAL CAREER
Since my days at Bangor Grammar I have always been interested in politics as I felt it was the way of helping the local community and getting rid of the injustices within Northern Ireland. In my late teens I became an active member of the Northern Ireland Labour Party and campaigned for social reform. With the decline of the NILP I joined the Alliance Party in 1975 and over the next twenty years served the party in many different roles including:
1977-1979 Party Organiser for Mid Ulster
1979 Delegate to Atkins Conference
1981-1997 Councillor for North Down
1982 Candidate for Assembly (North Down)
1996 Candidate for Northern Ireland Forum (North Down)
1997 I left the Alliance party and in 1998 stood unsuccessfully in the Assembly Election as an independent.
2001 I was again returned as an (independent) councillor for Bangor West, topping the poll for the forth successive election with 1871 votes (1.6 quotas)
2003 I again stood as an Independent for the Assembly increasing his share of the poll by 10% and finishing tenth out of 19 candidates on the first count.
2004 I joined the Green Party to highlight my increasing concern about environmental issues.
2005 I became the first Green Party representative to be elected to public office in Northern Ireland again topping the poll in Bangor West.
2007 I became the 1st Green Party MLA (for North Down)
OTHER PUBLIC BODIES
I have also served on many other public bodies including:
Member of the Eastern Health Board and Health council.
Chairman of North Down Hospitals Committee.
Member of Rathmore Board of Governors.
Board of St. Columbanus College.
Member of South Eastern Education and Library Board.
Member of North Down District Policing Partnership.
Governor of North Down and Ards Institute.
MY VIDEO PROFILE
Feel free to watch my video profile (2007) to find out more about me and what I stand for.
