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.
[3] Stewart held his council seat in the 1997 and 2001 local elections.
[4][5] Following the 2005 Northern Ireland local elections, in which Stewart was again re-elected, he was accused of electoral fraud.
[6] He admitted the charges and resigned from both his party and the council,[7] and was sentenced to four months in prison.
[8] The subsequent council by-election was won by the Alliance Party, which has held the seat ever since.