A ROW has erupted after an electoral candidate distributed campaign material which another candidate claims is stifling democratic debate.

Ryedale district councillor John Clark, who is running for election as North Yorkshire County Councillor for the Pickering Division, says that cards handed out by Greg White, current Pickering county councillor, are an attempt to sabotage the other candidate’s chances of speaking to the electorate.

The cards, which have been handed out in their hundreds by Coun White, say: “Notice to all Election Canvassers; please do not call here, as we prefer not to discuss our voting intentions at the door”.

Many households in Pickering have displayed them in their windows, making some streets in Pickering no-go areas for campaigners.

In the last county council election, just one in three people in this division turned out to vote.

This has so infuriated Coun Clark that he has reported the matter to the returning officer.

Coun Clark said: “Talking to politicians on your doorstep is part of the democratic process.

“Meeting residents face-to-face is one of the best ways to find out how they feel, what they think, what they want, and what they don’t want.”

Sue Cowan, 69, a housewife from Pickering, was the first to alert Coun Clark to the leaflets, and says that she feels the leaflets are sending out the wrong message.

She said: “In this day and age, when many people are not interested in voting, our representatives should be encouraging people to voice their opinions.

“Having a politician call at your door can be a pest sometimes, but with the country in the state it is in, we need to speak to our prospective decision makers.

“At the moment, it seems like MPs are ripping us off left, right and centre with the expenses they claim, and it is important to speak to politicians running for election at county council, because they deal with public money too.

“If these cards had come from the county council then it would been OK, but they shouldn’t have been handed out by someone who is standing.”

Coun White defended the leaflets, and said his intention was to make it easier for all politicians to know which houses to call at. He said that with only 20 per cent of 3,200 households in Pickering displaying the cards, there were still many houses where politicians could call. He said: “When you go round and call on people of an evening, many of them don’t want to be disturbed.

“I am not encouraging people to avoid political debate, because no one has to put a card in their window if they don’t want to.”

Four candidates are standing for the Pickering division.

Along with John Clark and Greg White, Doreen Davies of the Labour Party and Chris Newsam of the Green Party are up for election.

Mr Newsam said: “One thing we need is to be able to talk about issues in the community, and it is undemocratic for a sitting candidate to prevent discussion. I feel quite strongly that this is not right.”