Contesting Eastville Ward in Bristol’s local elections: Vote Vowles, Green Party, on June 4

I’ve received confirmation that my nomination as the Green Party candidate for the Eastville ward has been accepted. I will therefore be contesting the Eastville seat and want to say why people should vote for me and what I will work for if elected.

I’ve been active on protecting and enhancing Eastville’s green spaces – having been heavily involved in the (ongoing) campaign to prevent the ‘cycle house’ development encroaching onto the Bristol to Bath Railway Path, opposing the sell off and/or leasing of publicly owned land there, and having presented a petition to the council opposing their policy of flogging parks and green spaces.

I’ve also pressured for increased safety, and reduced air pollution and noise nuisance from roads, especially the busiest roads like those leading to the M32 (and the motorway itself) eg through speed reduction, having put proposals to council consultations on noise and walking.

In both previous elections and in continuous campaigning between elections I’ve been working to:

*Get safe residential roads, with a 20mph limit, to protect our kids. This would help in creating the much better cycling and pedestrian provision we need.

*Achieve quality learning for all children - no to large, impersonal education factories. Education for sustainable living should be a central feature.

*Encourage and support home and allotment grown food, widen fresh, local, healthy, organic and ethical food availability

*Protect, enhance and if possible increase Bristol’s open, green, natural spaces – no to inappropriate developments.

*Retain and improve locally available facilities, services, and jobs, giving local people and communities the biggest say over them

*Put people before profit - no to the privatization of local/public services

*Promote local energy saving and the renewable micro-generation of energy

*Create a Transport Authority for Greater Bristol, sort out Bristol’s buses/trains – we need far better and cheaper public transport

*Get much more investment in cutting people’s fuel bills and in local public transport - cut Bristol’s carbon emissions significantly each year and generate loads of local jobs.

*Achieve higher land, air, water and environmental quality.

*Bring abandoned land and buildings quickly into good use, stop ‘grot spots’ growing

*Get government, councils, businesses and individuals acting on their responsibility to be environmentally-friendly

*Achieve respect for and the enabling of broad based public participation in community life (see the list of 21 suggestions I’ve submitted to Bristol City Council’s Sustainable Communities Act process)

I’ve lived in Bristol, on the edge of the Bristol East constituency, for over 40 years. For over 20 years I have campaigned as a Green here. I was Parliamentary Candidate for Bristol South in 1987 and 2001 and have fought many local elections, last time in Knowle where I live. As well as being a founder-member of Bristol South Green Party I formed and now coordinate Sustainable Knowle – my neighbourhood Transition group. I've a long history of continuous activity/campaigning both party political and otherwise, including raising and presenting petitions, putting questions and making statements to the council and contributing to consultations.

I’ve worked from home as an Associate Lecturer in Environment (environmental decision making and environmental technology) with the Open University for the last ten years, having been a science teacher for fifteen years and a research and development technologist in the polymer industry for six years. I have had several years’ experience as a UNISON steward and NASUWT rep. and have been a governor in three schools. (full biography here)

Please vote Vowles, Green Party, in Eastville on June 4th 2009 !

http://www.bristolgreenparty.org.uk/