Rodney Connor (born 25 March 1951) is a retired Chief Executive of Fermanagh District Council in
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
and was a candidate for political office.
2000s
In 2000, Connor was appointed as Chief Executive of
Fermanagh District Council
Fermanagh District Council was a local council in Northern Ireland. It was created out of Fermanagh County Council and later merged with Omagh District Council in April 2015 under local government reorganisation to become Fermanagh and Omagh Di ...
. In 2005 Connor was allegedly inappropriately appointed by unionist councillors voting along party lines, leading to concerns about unlawful discrimination. The unsuccessful candidates were compensated and the council was fined. The Ulster Unionist Party denied any wrongdoing and stated that Connor was simply the best candidate for the job. He continued to be employed by FDC until he retired in 2010.
2010 general election
Connor stood as the
Unionist "Unity" candidate for the
House of Commons of the United Kingdom in
Fermanagh and South Tyrone in the
2010 Westminster election. He had the backing of the
Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), and the
Ulster Conservatives and Unionists – New Force electoral alliance between the
Ulster Unionist Party
The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it led unionist opposition to the Irish Home Rule m ...
(UUP) and the
Conservative Party. Ulster Unionist MLA for Fermanagh and South Tyrone,
Tom Elliott, said he was withdrawing his candidacy because he believed Connor was the ideal choice.
He lost to the incumbent,
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...
's
Michelle Gildernew by four votes,
having unsuccessfully challenged the result in the
Election Court
In United Kingdom election law, election court is a special court convened to hear a petition against the result of a local government or parliamentary election. The court is created to hear the individual case, and ceases to exist when it ha ...
.
References
Living people
People from County Fermanagh
Independent politicians in Northern Ireland
1951 births
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