Health board vice-chair to stand in SIC by-election
THE VICE chair of NHS Shetland has announced she will stand in the forthcoming Shetland North council by-election.
Natasha Cornick, who also is the chair of Shetland’s integration joint board, is the first candidate to publicly state their intention to stand in January’s by-election.
The by-election is being held after the resignation of Tom Morton at the end of October.
Cornick, who lives in Firth with her husband and three children, has been a board member of NHS Shetland since 2017.
She chairs the integration joint board, which brings together Shetland Islands Council and the NHS and is responsible for planning health and care services.
“Due to these roles, I have extensive knowledge about both the strengths and challenges we have as a community in these areas and feel that if elected to the council I would be in a really good position to hit the ground running,” she wrote in an election campaign statement on Facebook.
Cornick said she has lived in Shetland most of her life, moving to the isles 35 years ago as a young child.
She added that she is “passionate about helping to influence decisions that can positively impact the community” her children are growing up in.
“I have tried to contribute as much as I can to my community having spent around 10 years undertaking voluntary youth work before my children came along and I was also a trustee of the Shetland Aid Trust and held the position of treasurer of that charity for a time,” Cornick added.
In the last council election in 2022 voters in the Shetland North ward were not able to go to the ballot box because only three candidates went for the three seats.
In addition to Morton, Emma Macdonald and Andrea Manson were both returned as councillors for the North Mainland ward in 2022.
If the by-election is contested voting will take place on 23 January, with the result announced the day after.
People have until 17 December to submit their nomination papers.
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