A CAMPAIGN to oust a leading West Devon councillor from his seat was stalled last week after an anonymous petition was rejected by members.
But some of those who signed the petition are vowing to continue their campaign and speak publicly.
The petition, signed by 38 residents of Burrator parish, called for the resignation of Cllr Nicholas Waterhouse, leader of the borough's Liberal Democrat Group.
They claimed he 'neither adequately represented nor sought the majority view of his electorate during his current term on the council', and 'followed his own agenda'.
The petition further claimed signatories included current Liberal Democrat supporters and those who had voted for Cllr Waterhouse in the past.
A similar petition asked that he should no longer represent West Devon on Dartmoor National Park Authority, while a further petition was sent to Burrator Parish Council.
Cllr Waterhouse at a West
Devon council meeting last week dismissed the petition as a personal attack.
He said: 'I have always said that given the right weather conditions, a good Dartmoor gale or rain, I could in the morning assemble 50 signatories to say the world was flat.
'The problem with petitions is that they need to be handled responsibly.'
And Cllr Ted Sherrell claimed the petition was 'malevolence masquerading as democracy'.
'We should not dignify it with a reply,' he said.
Mike Spry, clerk to Burrator Parish Council said it was council policy to dismiss anonymous communications.
'Parish councillors, like MPs, are voted for at elections and unless they act in an illegal manner are there for the duration of their elected period — not liking them personally or what they do is not sufficient reason to have them ousted.
'Even had this petition come from an identifiable source, there is no legal basis upon which the request could be complied with.'
He said the council passed a unanimous vote of confidence in Cllr Waterhouse and informed the borough of its actions.
After Tuesday's meeting, Amanda Steers, who signed the petition and attended the meeting but did not speak, said the document was sent anonymously so one person did not have to speak for everyone.
She insisted the petition was not a personal attack on Cllr Waterhouse.
'It's definitely not a personal vendetta and it's not politically motivated,' she said.
She said a public meeting would be called to discuss the way forward, hopefully by the end of August.'We are going to continue with this, definitely —I think it's the right thing to do, considering the way it's been dismissed.'
The option of finding a candidate to stand against Cllr Waterhouse at next year's elections would also be considered, said Ms Steers.
Shirley Harris, of Meavy, said treatment of the petition was 'bureaucracy and cronyism going mad'.
'A complaint is a complaint in any format,' she said.