– It is my assessment that it will be a disproportionate disadvantage for me to be in the position as the media pressure has developed, says Sissel Knutsen Hegdal. Stavanger mayor Sissel Knutsen Hegdal has now added this sentence to his exemption application. That could lead to her having to resign as mayor on Monday. According to the Local Government Act, it is only when the office leads to “significant inconvenience” that the elected official can be relieved of office. And it was a lack of this formulation that created chaos in Stavanger politics recently. Knutsen Hegdal says the last few weeks have been demanding. In September 2023, she was elected mayor of Stavanger. Photo: Øystein Otterdal / news – Lei me – The last few weeks have been demanding, both for Stavanger politics and for me personally. I am sorry that I will not be able to complete the political project that Stavanger’s voters gave me the confidence to carry out, she says. Now Knutsen Hegdal has changed the application so that it can be approved. This means that she can most likely be relieved of her duties on Monday when the city council in Stavanger meets. – She sees that the application last Friday was not good enough for the city council’s majority, says Hegdal’s communications adviser, Trond Birkedal. Trond Birkedal is the communications advisor to Sissel Knutsen Hegdal. Photo: Øystein Otterdal / news In the city council meeting on Monday, there was both talk of Knutsen Hegdal’s application being processed, but also being postponed. Birkedal says the Stavanger mayor wants it to be processed on Monday. – She wants the application to be approved, he says. The parties will agree Eirik Faret Sakariassen is group leader in Stavanger SV. He expects that the party will now grant her application. – I am glad that she has prepared the application. We will discuss it at a group meeting today. When the application has been changed, I think it is easier to grant it, he says. Mette Vabø is group leader for Venstre: – I think that was the right decision by Sissel. We will approve the application. And Dag Mossige is group leader for the Labor Party: – It appears that the threshold for being able to grant her an exemption has been significantly lowered. And I think that is very positive. The city needs a new mayor, says Mossige. Dag Mossige is group leader in the Stavanger Labor Party. Photo: Øystein Otterdal / news Group leader in Stavanger Conservative Party, Hilde Karlsen, says she thinks Tormod Losnedal (H) will now become mayor. – We expect that the entire city council will support the application, and that Losnedal will be elected as mayor, she says. – Within the limits of the law The new exemption application for Sissel Knutsen Hegdal is within the limits of the law, says head of the political secretariat, Hanne Vatnaland, to news. In a meeting note from the director of the municipality to the city council in Stavanger, it is stated: “Based on the guidelines of the law, the director of the municipality considers that the adjusted exemption application is within the framework of the law in order to be able to grant exemption from the office of mayor. The municipal director emphasizes that it is the disadvantage for the elected representative that must be taken into account in the assessment of the exemption application.” The municipal director thus presents two proposals for decision: Either to grant the application or not to grant the application. Misuse of the party’s funds On 4 September, the mayor of Stavanger, Sissel Knutsen Hegdal, announced that she would resign following the misuse of the Conservative Party’s funds for private purposes. She has submitted an application for resignation, and the Conservative Party has nominated her successor. But the application was not approved by the municipal director, and everything is now in the city council’s hands. It is not certain that Knutsen Hegdal will be allowed to resign. There are strict rules for what is required for a mayor to resign. According to §7-9 of the Local Government Act, it is only when the office leads to “significant inconvenience” that the elected official can be relieved of office. Published 11.10.2024, at 09.07 Updated 11.10.2024, at 11.50
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Now she has changed it – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
