TonyOX3

When the candidates for the City Council elections were announced on 25 April I started to look for their personal statements. Who exactly are these people who want our votes? Some of them are well-known: existing Councillors, habitual candidates – others are new to the scene and unknown.

I looked at all the parties’ websites. Labour had a near-complete set of personal statements. The others, nothing. The Greens have something for their existing Councillors, but the statements date back to the 2012 elections and haven’t been updated. Nothing on their new candidates. I searched for and found a very few personal websites for the candidates. Some have twitter accounts where their bios are more or less informative. I didn’t find any facebook pages with anything useful, though as a non-user of facebook I may have missed something.

I contacted all the parties’ local offices asking them for the information I wanted. The Conservatives and UKIP promised me something within a few days and were as good as their word. The Conservative website now has a complete set for all their candidates. UKIP emailed me details of all their candidates. The Greens have said they have prepared statements but can’t let me have them yet. The Oxford LibDems don’t seem to have a central contact point on their website. Local Councillors I know personally have sent me information but the set is not complete.

I’m astonished that the parties seemed so unprepared. I expected they would have all this ready to launch right at the start of the campaign. I imagined they would be putting their candidates’ details on their leaflets and flyers, and would have written them weeks ago. It’s as if they don’t think people will want to know anything about the candidates, that they will just vote for the party. I can see that this is more likely in a General Election, but locally I believe the person counts for a lot.

Anyway, here’s everything I have been able to put together by now, ward by ward (one page for each). The statements are the candidates’ own words (or their agents’). I have only edited out direct political point-scoring which has nothing to do with a candidate’s own qualities and beliefs. For a one-page list of the candidates and their twitter accounts see this page.

Personal statements ward by ward.

• Barton & Sandhills
• Churchill
• Headington
• Headington Hill & Northway
• Marston
• Quarry & Risinghurst

Churchill

Berk Bektas (Con)

I am currently an undergrad at Oxford Brookes University, where I am studying International Relations and History. I came with my family as a toddler to Britain due to the political persecution my father suffered as a Human Rights activist. This is where my interest in politics started. I looked into and studied Britain’s political system, and have always found its history is fascinating, I absolutely love it. Why am I a Conservative? I grew up in a council estate in Islington, moved to Hackney during my teens, and went to a Sixth-Form in Camden. Growing up in these places, I saw many people who seemed to always play the victim; the Britain in which I grew up was one which didn’t incentivise people to work, and to therefore better their situation. I want power returned to the people, and not the state, that’s why I am a Conservative.
Berk Bektas’ twitter account carries the single slogan “Abolish Tuition Fees!”. Other than to reiterate that he is a student he declined to elaborate on this anti-Conservative stance when I contacted him. [1][4]

Susan Brown (Lab)

Grew up in Oxford and has lived here most of her life. Works for the NHS and has two children. Experienced councillor who represented Churchill ward for 13 years (with a 7 year break!). She is particularly proud of the role she played in improvements in housing in the area, the holiday play scheme for young people in Wood Farm and measures to tackle antisocial behaviour. [2]

Julian Faultless (Green)

Has lived in Oxford for nearly twenty years. Teacher of instrumental music to children in schools so has a keen interest in educational issues. Julian has been a resident of Churchill ward for over five years and is happy to be living in a house facing Magdalen wood. He has particular interests in issues of opportunities for local young people, local transport, leisure facilities, recycling and upkeep of the environment. [3] [Update 11/5/14: This current statement is unchanged from 2 years ago apart from changing ‘about’ to ‘nearly’ in the first line.]

James Reilly (LibDem)

No information yet.

David Slater (UKIP)

Dave is a retired teacher having taught for nearly 30 years in Oxfordshire and Wiltshire comprehensive schools. He was born in Liverpool and comes from a working class background which still influences him strongly. Dave believes very strongly in Democracy and joined UKIP because he felt that a referendum on EU membership was long overdue. Youth unemployment is a matter of great concern to him and he believes that the other political parties no longer represent the manual workers of this country. Locally, he is concerned by the piece-meal approach that Oxford council takes to traffic congestion and that a realistic, integrated transport policy is long overdue. Since UKIP councillors are not bound by Party Policy, he promises that the views of local people will be strongly represented on Oxford council. Dave views UKIP as the People’s Party. [5]

Sources
[1] @BerkBBektas
[2] oxfordlabour.org.uk
[3] oxford.greenparty.org.uk.
[4] oxfordshireconservatives.com
[5] By email

Barton & Sandhills

Sallie Barnard (LibDem)

No information yet.

Van Coulter (Lab)

Trade unionist and co-operative member. Educated as a political economist at Ruskin College, Oxford. A humanist who supports consumer democracy, actions to address inequalities and seeks to uphold inclusion, believing that every person counts. Advisor to NGOs, trade unions & charities. Director of Ruskin College. Hobbies include economics, politics, international relations, public history and the arts. [1][2]

Raymond Hitchins (Green)

[Added 10/5/2014] I have lived in the area for the past 20 years. I work in the health service. I am involved with several local conservation groups. I am standing because I believe everyone should have the chance to vote green. [8]

James Johnson (Con)

Having lived in Oxford for three and a half years, James is keen to represent the residents of Barton and Sandhills and to strive to improve their lives through local government. He is interested in improving public services in the area, as well as to ensure that new housing and planning developments in Barton are well-managed and are positive for the ward. Over the next weeks and months, he’ll be listening to residents and working hard to understand and address their concerns. James is also a keen badminton player, is Deputy Director of a local charity, and enjoys films and reading.
On his twitter account James says he is a finalist at Oxford University and took a cardboard cut out of Eric Pickles around the USA.[3][6]

Bejamin Linus (Ind)

The system needs to change. Politics has stopped being what it is supposed to be, a mandate of the people. Society and community are my priorities. A happy community is a safer community. By bringing PEOPLE together, we can do more than make change, we can lead the way to the future. I am a staunch supporter of the power of community, and an even firmer believer in fairness, equality and democracy. Under my term, no-one will ever be able to say they didn’t get to be heard on an issue. Playing by the same old rules gets the same old results. We’ve all been worn down by lying politicians and their false promises. Isn’t it time to play a different game? The one that the establishment doesn’t even know exists yet? Vote for me – and watch our community grow and thrive.
On Ben’s twitter account he also says he is guitarist and producer from HashTag Alice, and Editor of Headington Monthly magazine.[4][5][7]

Ian Macdonald (UKIP)

I moved to Oxford 5 years ago as a student but my love of the city led me to stay here after graduation. I currently work as a software developer. I am standing because I am tired of inaction, complacency and failure among the ruling parties of Oxford. If elected, I want to challenge the culture of bureaucracy, waste and over-management in city hall and ensure that services delivered are of good quality and value. I will also put decision making back into the hands of local people by delivering referendums on major issues where enough people call for one. This is the only true mechanism for challenging out of touch politicians. [7]

Sources
[1] oxfordlabour.org.uk
[2] @vancllrvcoulter
[3] @jamesjohnson252
[4] @bad_gateway
[5] From personal statement on website.
[6] oxfordshireconservatives.com
[7] By email.
[8] greenoxfordshire.com