Desmond Stewart
{{short description|Northern Irish unionist politician}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2017}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Desmond Stewart
| office = Member of Coleraine Borough Council
| constituency = The Skerries
| term_start = 17 May 1989
| term_end = 17 November 2006
| predecessor = Matthew Kane
| successor = Barney Fitzpatrick
| office2 = Member of the Northern Ireland Forum
for East Londonderry
| term_start2 = 30 May 1996
| term_end2 = 25 April 1998
| birth_date = {{year of birth and age|1949}}
| birth_place = Portrush, Northern Ireland
| party = DUP (before 2006; 2025 - present)
}}
Robert Desmond Stewart (born 1949), known as Dessie Stewart, is a former Northern Irish unionist politician.
Political career
Living in Portrush, Stewart joined the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), and first stood for Coleraine Borough Council for the party in the Skerries ward, at the 1985 Northern Ireland local elections. Although he was unsuccessful, he was narrowly elected at the following election, in 1989,"[http://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/85-89lgcoleraine.htm Local Government Elections 1985 - 1989: Coleraine]", Northern Ireland Elections and then topped the poll in 1993."[http://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/lgcoleraine.htm Coleraine Borough Council Elections 1993-2011]", Northern Ireland Elections At the Northern Ireland Forum election in 1996, he stood in East Londonderry, and was elected from second place on the DUP list."[http://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/ael.htm East Londonderry]", Northern Ireland Elections
Stewart held his council seat in the 1997 and 2001 local elections. In 2001/2, he served as Deputy Mayor of Coleraine, then in 2003/4 as the borough's Mayor."[http://www.colerainebc.gov.uk/news/news_item.php?id=32 Council elects new mayor] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140519025051/http://www.colerainebc.gov.uk/news/news_item.php?id=32 |date=19 May 2014 }}", Coleraine Borough CouncilNorthern Ireland Yearbook 2004, p.223
Following the 2005 Northern Ireland local elections, in which Stewart was again re-elected, he was accused of electoral fraud. He was subsequently convicted of taking fifteen electoral votes from a care home and using them to vote for himself."[http://www.rte.ie/news/2006/1117/82650-stewartd/ Ex DUP councillor jailed for electoral fraud]", RTÉ, 17 November 2006 He admitted the charges and resigned from both his party and the council,"[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/6082994.stm Vote to replace shamed ex-mayor]", BBC News, 25 October 2006 and was sentenced to four months in prison. During his trial, he punched a press photographer, for which he was fined £300."[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/6680747.stm Former mayor guilty of assault]", BBC News, 22 May 2007 The subsequent council by-election was won by the Alliance Party, which has held the seat ever since.
References
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{{succession box|title=Mayor of Coleraine|years=2003–2004|before=Olive Church|after=Robert McPhearson}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Desmond}}
Category:British politicians convicted of fraud
Category:Democratic Unionist Party councillors