THE WINDOW of a much-loved Cardiff councillor who died suddenly this year has won a by-election for his vacant seat.
Cllr Waheeda Sattar, standing for the Labour group, was one of seven candidates running for election in the Grangetown ward on Thursday, April 25.
The passing of her late husband, Cllr Abdul Sattar, was announced in February and was followed by an outpouring of tributes by members of the community and city councillors.
Ms Sattar will join Cllr Ash Lister, Cllr Sara Robinson and Cllr Lynda Thorne, who are the other three Labour councillors for Grangetown.
Cllr Robinson, who was at the Grange Pavilion during the count, said the death of Cllr Abdul Sattar was a “massive shock” to the community, but thinks Cllr Waheeda Sattar will be a “strong voice for Grangetown”.
The Sattars are best known for running Millenium Stores on Cornwall Street.
Cllr Robinson said: “Their shop… was always somewhere that you would go to sort things out. [Cllr Abdul Sattar] was just so well respected across the ward.”
Highlighting Cllr Abdul Sattar’s prominence in the community, Cllr Robinson said the corner shop was “absolutely covered in flowers” the day after he died.
She called Cllr Waheeda Sattar’s decision to stand in her late husband’s seat brave, adding: “I think she will make a really strong councillor. She would be the first non-white female representing Grangetown which I think is an amazing step forward.
“She is somebody who is really brilliant at problem solving, she is very pragmatic, she is very accessible. I know that she is going to be a really fantastic, strong voice for Grangetown.”
Cllr Lister, who has also known the Sattars for years said he wasn’t surprised by the number of tributes to Cllr Abdul Sattar, adding it was a “testament to the man he was”.
He said: “Abdul always told me I could do whatever I wanted. I could be first minister, I could be prime minister, I could be the leader of the council, I could sit on the back benches.
“It was always up to me, but I had the ability to do it and Abdul was always one of those people, just like my grandfather, who believed in me at times when I didn’t.”
Of Cllr Waheeda Sattar, he said: “I think she is so passionate about the community.
“She always worked as part of a team with Abdul and [I] am more than happy to welcome her to the Grangetown team.
“She was already a part of it, so for us it is continuing as normal. We are very fortunate that we have still got a Cllr Sattar serving Grangetown.”
The voter turnout in Grangetown was 21% – that is 3,106 voters in total. Here is a breakdown of how people voted:
- Waheeda Sattar (Labour) – 1,470 votes
- Kirsty Kopetzki (Plaid Cymru/Greens/Common Ground) – 573 votes
- Zak Weaver (Welsh Conservatives) – 387 votes
- Sash Patel (Propel) – 292 votes
- Ahmed Samater (independent) – 205 votes
- Andrew Hovord (independent) – 44 votes
The leader of the Labour group at Cardiff Council, Cllr Huw Thomas, was also at the Grange Pavillion when Cllr Sattar’s victory was announced.
Cllr Thomas said: “I am delighted with the result, I am delighted for Waheeda and Abdul’s whole family because this is a very personal result for them obviously, but it is a wider result in terms of what Labour is doing in Cardiff.
“There have been some in the opposition parties who sought to use this as a bit of a test about the reaction to Vaughan Gething and clearly the results speak for themselves, an overwhelming Labour victory.”
