She was the first candidate to declare her interest in the vacancy, telling the Guernsey Press yesterday that she was ‘seriously considering’ standing and was ‘grateful’ for the encouragement she had received from other members.
The election is likely to be held later this month, following Yvonne Burford’s move to sit on Policy & Resources, which cannot be combined with membership of the DPA under the States’ rules of procedure.
‘Helping to solve our island’s housing crisis is our number one priority in the States, given it is the key to solving so many of the challenges we face as an island,’ said Deputy Ozanne.
‘The DPA has a critical role to play in this regard and I would be honoured to serve as president of the authority if elected by my colleagues.’
Her chances of landing the role received a boost when two other deputies who had been linked with the vacancy ruled themselves out of the race.
DPA vice-president Marc Laine will not be seeking the top job on the authority.
‘The DPA is not my natural area to lead,’ he said.
He recently accepted a newly-created role as P&R’s political adviser on digital transformation and is expected to play an influential role in the development of IT arrangements following the removal of Agilisys.
States Assembly & Constitution Committee president Deputy Sarah Hansmann Rouxel was believed to have been considering a bid for the leadership of the DPA. But she said yesterday that she would definitely not be a candidate.
Two other members linked with the vacancy, Deputies Chris Blin and John Gollop, were unavailable for comment.
Deputy Ozanne is currently vice-president of the Employment & Social Security Committee and a member of the Education, Sport & Culture Committee and the Transport Licensing Authority.
She expressed an interest in the vacancy on P&R to replace Jonathan Le Tocq, but in the end decided against standing before Deputy Burford defeated Deputy Gollop in one of the few contested elections to have taken place so far this term.
Members of Environment & Infrastructure are also precluded from leading or sitting on the DPA, which means that 10 of the States’ 40 members are not allowed to stand in the forthcoming election.
Much of the new DPA’s agenda is likely to be filled with a long-awaited review of part of the Island Development Plan. It is also under direction to return to the States with legal changes to relax the process for amending the IDP.
After her election to lead the DPA, Deputy Burford said she hoped the States would agree to postpone a full review of the IDP which is currently due next year under planning law.
The date of any committee election is determined solely by the Bailiff as Presiding Officer of the States.
The Assembly’s next meeting on 22 October is considered the most likely date for the DPA election.
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