PN Sliema councillor resigns

Nationalist councillor Michael Pace Ross has tendered his resignation barely a month after being re-elected to the Sliema local council.

Mr Pace Ross, who has been a councillor in Sliema since 2003, cited personal reasons for his resignation.

"I confirm I resigned this evening following the first Sliema council meeting in which Marina Arrigo was confirmed mayor and Albert Bonello Dupuis deputy mayor.

"Following the March 11 elections, personal circumstances arose where I decided to reconsider my position and step down.

"I find that I cannot continue with the voluntary community work I have carried out in my free time with honesty, integrity and impartiality over the past six years in Birkirkara and Sliema. With the resources available, I think I served residents to the best of my abilities, although some people are not always grateful for the voluntary work carried out by councillors in general.

"I thank those who had confidence and placed trust in me throughout the years," Mr Pace Ross told The Times yesterday.

He first contested as an independent candidate in Birkirkara in 1997 without success. In 2000 he was elected in Birkirkara as a PN councillor with 290 first count votes. In 2003, Mr Pace Ross contested the Sliema council elections and was elected in a by-election after Robert Arrigo was elected MP.

He contested again in 2006 and obtained 256 first count votes and was the fourth out of 14 PN candidates to be elected to the council.