New councillor Julie pledges to work hard

STRANRAER and the Rhins’ newest councillor is already getting stuck in to her new role.

Julie Currie, 57, was voted in as the area’s newest ward councillor last Friday, at the seventh stage of voting, with 1302 votes.

Brought up in Glenluce, Julie has lived and worked in Wigtownshire for most of her life in a variety of roles within the health service: first as a nurse at Dalrymple Hospital in Stranraer and later as a school nurse in the Machars, before moving to the public health improvement team.

But it was her desire to get back into community life that led to her decision to stand as the Conservative candidate at the recent by-election.

She said: “I’ve always been very community minded; my mum and dad were always very involved and that got passed on to me.

“I’ve served as chair of Stranraer Academy parent council and I’ve been a community councillor so I’ve always liked to be involved.

“My job focus for a long time was Wigtownshire before becoming part of a more regional team, and I missed those local connections so that was why I wanted to stand at the by-election.”

A total of 3939 votes were cast at last week’s election, showing a 34.29 per cent turnout, and Julie says she felt relieved when she was named the victor.

She added: “During the campaign I walked about ten miles a day, so it was absolutely exhausting, but I felt a real sense of relief and happiness when the result was announced.

“I also want to acknowledge all of my fellow candidates, I’d never done anything like it before, and to stand in any election is a really brave thing to do because it means you’re wide open, but I’m thankful for all the support I received during the campaign.”

She’ll be replacing stalwart councillor Willie Scobie following his retirement after 37 years of service, and although Julie will officially take up her post early next year, she’s already getting out and about, adding: “I’ve already noticed there are a lot of transferable skills from my previous roles.

“I handed in my notice to the NHS this week because I really wanted to give this role all of my focus. In the interim I’ve already been out to Sandhead Community Council, and have been talking to various groups – including the A77 and A75 campaign – and people about issues facing our community so I’m already quite busy.

“I’m really passionate about tackling inequalities particularly when it comes to health and social care and making it as practical, local and accessible as possible. And I want to support as many established community groups as I can so there’s a lot of work do but I’m excited to do it.”