Chiefs support mayoral candidate

Chiefs support mayoral candidate

BOGOR: Sixty-eight subdistrict chiefs of Bogor municipality
threw their weight behind Diani Budiarto, Bogor Mayor's assistant
for development affairs, who is running for mayor for the 2004-
2009 term, ignoring a call from incumbent Mayor Iswara Natanegara
that as civil servants, they must not support any candidates.

"We are not challenging Pak Iswara's call for civil servants
to not support candidates. We are supporting Pak Diani because
our other candidate, City Secretary Deddy S. Hamdan, lost in a
Golkar convention to candidates Helmi Sutikno, director of city
tap water company PDAM Tirta Pakuan, and TB Tatang Muchtar,
deputy speaker of City Council," Eko, Situ Gede subdistrict chief
in West Bogor, said on Friday.

Bogor councillor Iwan Suryawan of the Justice Party (PK)
regretted the subdistrict chiefs' action.

"I'm afraid that the subdistrict chiefs' performance will
decline if their candidate loses in the election. Civil servants
should remain independent," he said. -- JP