News | Local elections
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A THIRD of Maidstone Council comes up for re-election when the town goes to the polls on May 22 – and the result could see the council with a more youthful face. Four Conservative candidates are
under 30 and Labour is fielding one of the youngest contenders in the election – 19-year-old student Stephen Taylor. Canvassing isnowwell underway
across the borough, withUKIPfield- ing candidates in each of the 22 seats, trying to knock the Conservative group out of overall control. How- ever, the Lib Dems, currently the sec- ond largest group on the council, are hoping 2014 will put them once more back at the helm of local poli- tics.
Maidstone has 55 councillors: 30 Conservatives, 19 Lib Dems, five In- dependents and one Labour. Labour is hoping singing nun Theresa Lyons can sway voters in Shepway South, where Labour Cllr MalcolmMcKayholds one of its two seats. A former nun in a French order, Theresa has studied law and worked as a nurse. She is chairman of the Senacre Housing Co-operative and a member of a local choir. Valley Park student Stephen Tay- lor, who is fighting Shepway North
for Labour, plans to read politics and law at the University of Kent. Former councillor Geoff Harvey
and his wife Jean are hoping to gain the two seats in Harrietsham and Lenham for Labour. The council could be “hogged” by
the Tories if brother and sister Roger and Abigail Hogg are elected, join- ing their father Mike on the Conser- vative benches. Abigail is a parish councillor forTovil while her brother is involved in his home community of Fant. Park Wood Cllr David Burton is standing in the “safe” seat of Mar-
These were the declared candidates as wewent to press (* = standing councillor) Allington:AndyAirey(UKIP),DanDaley* (LD), Barry Ginley (Con) Bearsted: Mike Cuming* (Con), Geoff Li- cence (Ind),SarahPettit (UKIP),Geoffrey Samme(LD) Boxley: Derek Butler* (Con), MikeWardle (UKIP),Danny Wright (LD) Bridge:JamesHill (UKIP), Stuart Mallison (Con), David Pickett* (LD), Sandra Mc- Dowell (Lab) Coxheath & Hunton: Brian Mortimer* (LD), Clive Parker (Con), Keith Woollven (UKIP) East: Tony Dennison (Con), Nicola Fis- senden (LD), Gareth Kendall (UKIP), Richard Coates (Lab)
den and Yalding, in place of Rodd Nelson-Gracie, who is standing down. Jade Webster, chairman of Parents is the Word, will stand in ParkWood in his stead. Other stalwarts leaving the council
this year include former mayor and cabinetmemberCllr Eric Hotson, (20 years with Maidstone Council and a member of KCC), Cllr Jenefer Gib- son (28 years representing Head- corn) and Mike Yates, a member for 15 years, serving Shepway North. Although Tom Sams stepped
down as an Independent member for Harrietsham and Lenham in
Fant:RogerHogg(Con),SamRoach(LD), Roy Smith (UKIP), PaulHarper (Lab) Harrietsham & Lenham (two seats): John Barned* (Con), Geoff Harvey (Lab), Jean Harvey (Lab), MazMichaelas (Con), JanettaSams(Ind),MikeWilliams (UKIP) Headcorn: Peter Edwards-Daem (UKIP), Martin Round (Con) Heath: Brian Moss* (Con), Colin Taylor (UKIP), James Willis (LD), Richard Chap- man(Lab) High Street:CliveEnglish* (LD),SamLain (Con), Jackie Hemsted (UKIP), Lawrence Miller (Lab) Marden & Yalding: David Burton (Con), NicholasFenn(LD),ErickaOlivares (UKIP), EdithDavis (Lab) North (two seats): Charles Elliott (UKIP),
March, his wife Janetta, a parish councillor in Lenham, is standing in his place. Clive Parker, chairman of Cox-
heath Parish Council, is standing for the Conservatives in Coxheath & Hunton, while the chairman of Sta- plehurst Parish Council, John Perry, is hoping to fill the shoes being va- cated by Eric Hotson. As well as the borough elections,
there are elections for parish council seats in East Sutton and Tovil. A full list of candidates is also
available on Maidstone Council’s website.
Tony Harwood* (LD), Michael Hemsley (Con), Tommy Long (LD), Adrian Tilley (UKIP), Jeff Tree (Con), Keith Adkinson (Lab) Park Wood: Milden Choonga (LD), Christine Edwards-Daem (UKIP), Naomi Fearon (Lab), JadeWebster (Con) ShepwayNorth:SimonElls (UKIP),Steve Sheppard (Con), Stephen Taylor (Lab), DavidWilliams (LD) Shepway South: Patrik Garton (Con), Theresa Lyons (Lab), Doug Perkins (LD), Dave Sergeant (UKIP) South: Abigail Hogg (Con), Derek Mortimer* (LD), PaulWooding (UKIP) Staplehurst: Jamie Kalmar (UKIP), John Perry (Con), Paulina Watson (LD), Jon Randall (Lab)
Resurfacing Kent’s roads
What can you do to help:
kent.gov.uk/resurfacing 26 Maidstone Town May 2014
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