Sam quitting
The local council stalwart told his Ulster Unionist Party branch he would not be seeking nomination or selection for the next election.
Mr Gardiner said he had taken the step because the people who elected him do not like ‘double jobbing’ and as he is standing for election as an MLA he would not be seeking the council job.
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Hide AdHe told the ‘MAIL’: “I could have stepped down last year but as the people had elected me to the council I didn’t feel it was my choice to go.”
Mr Gardiner has been a Craigavon Councillor since its inception and was the old Lurgan Council’s youngest ever Mayor.