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Police elections |News
I’ve donemy time, says Ann
KENT’S police and crime commis- sioner Ann Barnes is not standing for re-election. Mrs Barnes, who was elected to
the post in 2012, has been a promi- nent figure during her term of office – and not always for the right rea- sons. She has fought to retain the num-
ber of police officers on the streets in the face of swingeing budgetary cuts and has set up a successful sex- ual assault referral centre and im- proved the services of victim support in the county. But she received widespread ridicule after appearing in a fly-on- the-wall documentary on Channel 4 about the role of the commissioner (pictured). Mrs Barnes made a public apol-
ogy and admitted she had been un- wise to appear in the programme, in which she struggled to explain what her role involved and was filmed having difficulty defining an ap- proach to policing priorities called “the onion”. She also failed to write her title correctly on a whiteboard andwas filmed painting her nails in the office. A former teacher, Merseyside-
born Mrs Barnes moved to Kent more than 30 years ago and has been a magistrate since 1986. Before being elected as commissioner, she was chair of the Kent PoliceAuthor-
ity for seven years. Having spent more than 15 years
in police accountability and gover- nance, Mrs Barnes believes she has done her “time” and said: “I am content that I have delivered what I said I would and Kent Police is in a very strong and sustainable position for the future.” She warned candidates vying to replace her that they will need to be prepared to work around the clock, listen to the public and put the peo- ple of Kent first – not a political party and notWestminster. She concluded: “I have been hon-
oured to have the chance to meet and work with so many wonderful individuals and organisations who work tirelessly in Kent to make life better for our communities. Their compassion, professionalism and kindness is inspirational. “We should never forget theseun-
sung heroeswhoonlywant the best for us and I amproud to have got to knowand work closely with them.”
Timetable of the election
NOMINATIONS close for the role on April 7 – so there is still time formore candidates to put them- selves forward for election. The poll will coincide with local authority elections on May 5 and the count will take place at Dover Town Hall on May 6. Nadeem Aziz, chief executive
at Dover District Council, has been appointed the returning of- ficer. Mrs Barnes will relinquish her
reign on May 11 and the new PCC will take command the fol-
lowing day. The electorate will have two
votes.Any of the candi- dates who get more than 50% of the vote in the first count will be elected.
Otherwise, all but the top two
candidates are eliminated and the second preference vote comes into play, ultimately de- ciding the candidate with the most votes. Mrs Barnes was elected with a majority of 53,889 but this year’s victory is likely to be much less clear cut.
Conviction could bar Fergus
PROPERTY tycoon FergusWilson has launched a controversial high- profile campaign in his bid to be Kent’s next police and crime com- missioner. However, with a conviction for assault to his name, he might have to
pull out of the race. MrWilson (67), from Boughton Monchelsea, says he has instructed
his solicitors to appeal against the conviction, in April 2015, after he was found guilty of hitting estate agent DanielWells and fined £1,500. Candidates who have put themselves forward so far include: Henry Bolton (Ukip), Tim Garbutt (Ind), David Naghi (Lib Dem), Tristan Os- borne (Lab), Gurvinder Sandher (Independent), Matthew Scott (Con), FergusWilson (Ind) and Steve Uncles (English Democrats).
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