New Caithness Committee Chair appointed
First thing on the agenda at today’s Caithness Committee was to elect a new Chair to take over to Cllr Matthew Reiss who has held the role for the last 2 years.
Cllr Nicola Sinclair was unanimously elected to take over as Chair and she will be supported by two deputes – Cllr Willie Mackay representing Ward 3 and Cllr Struan Mackie, for Ward 2.
Thanking her fellow Councillors for their support she said: “I am honoured to be given this opportunity to serve Caithness as Chair. In particular I would like to pay tribute to Cllr Reiss for serving as Chair for the past two years of this committee. Cllr Reiss has brought a great deal of pragmatism, careful judgement and humility to the role and has been a calming influence at the same time as working hard to represent Caithness’ best interests within Highland Council.
“I hope to build on that foundation by pushing Caithness Committee forward as a more powerful and relevant forum for local decision making. The Highland Council has made a commitment towards localism and it’s important that we collectively seize the opportunity to ensure that we as elected members are working together to address the issues that matter most to our community and ensure those issues are championed at Highland level.
“I won’t as Chair get it right every time or have all the answers but I hope to facilitate closer collaboration between the eight of us, local officers and partners, across county and party lines. It’s something we’ve always done so well and is in many ways a unique power we have here in Caithness.
“It will be all the more important now, as we emerge from this pandemic and seek to rebuild our economy and social structures, and I have great confidence that we can harness the inspirational example set by our community to deliver meaningful progress.
Speaking after the meeting, Cllr Sinclair also welcomed the new appointment of the two vice chairs, stating: ‘I am delighted to see Cllrs Mackay and Mackie elected to represent Wards 3 and 2 respectively, ensuring that the community on both sides of the county will have an equal voice in raising and progressing Caithness issues. Each will act as civic heads in their area and work closely with myself as Chair to agree key priorities to raise at local, Council, national level and beyond. This is very much a spirit of openness and collaboration and I know we are all excited to get started.”
Speaking about his new role, Cllr Struan Mackie said: “I am immensely proud to be taking on the Vice-Chair of the Caithness Committee and the newly reinstated Civic position for Thurso and Northwest Caithness following today’s Committee. The new Committee structure provides the opportunity to pursue the issues that really matter to our communities and recognises both boroughs unique civic traditions.
“Although substantial engagement with the Highland Council and our officers must now begin in earnest, we will not shy away from the extensive lobbying that must be done with partner bodies such as NHS Highland and both Scottish and UK Governments. I look forward to working closely with Cllr Sinclair and Provost Mackay to ensure that the Caithness Committee becomes a powerful and proactive voice for the people we represent and deliver real, tangible change.”
Cllr Mackay who has held the post of Caithness Civic Leader since 2017 added: “I am delighted that the role of Provost of Wick is coming back after it was deleted in 2006. It is going to be a great honour and a pleasure to carry out my duties. Caithness has much to offer from the wide-ranging skills of its people, to its outstanding natural landscape that is totally unique, and the strong community bounds we have. I found our meeting today to be very constructive and I look forward to supporting our new chair and the whole committee as we all work together and look to the future.”