Those of us campaigning to keep East Brighton College of Media Arts (Comart) open were not surprised to read in The Argus last week about the amount of expenses claimed by councillors, nor do we necessarily oppose such allowances.

We do, however, believe councillors should represent the interests of those who elected them and we believe Gill Mitchell has failed her constituents on the issue of Comart.

We have been to her surgery and have her written replies to questions we have sent her. She merits only one mark out of ten for having the courtesy to hear us out.

To pass her maths test, we suggest she looks at some figures again. Her argument that less than half of local parents choose not to send their children to Comart does not stand up to scrutiny.

How many people voted at the last local election, Gill? Forty-six per cent. And your share of the vote? Fourteen per cent.

Maybe the voters have spoken already. The issue of the future of Comart was not before the electorate at the last election but it is now - another percentage for you to take on board.

In recent independent research, 95 per cent of people living in the East Brighton area supported keeping the school.

It is against this backdrop that we have drawn up plans to contest the next local elections and to campaign to ensure those who have failed to stand up for the community they serve no longer get the honour of serving it.

If Councillor Mitchell has her way, the school would be closed by the next elections.

We issue her a challenge - resign your seat and fight a by-election now on the issue of Comart.

-Indra Donafresco, Whitehawk