Wealden District Council Candidates

The following candidates are standing for election to Wealden District Council:

David Jonas

Forest Row Ward

David moved to Forest Row from Leatherhead with his family in 1999, and has since become a very active member of the community.

He is the Financial Director of Vegetarian Express Ltd, a food wholesaling company that distributes to contract caterers throughout the South East, and a Partner and Practice Manager of the natural health clinic Holden Natural Health in the village.

From 2002 to the present he has been actively involved with Ashdown Friends of the Earth as Coordinator, and then Climate Change Campaigner, and has conducted and contributed to many successful campaigns:

• Opposition to the commercial planting of GM crops which resulted in Wealden District Council declaring our district a GM Free Zone;

• The recycling campaign which culminated in the passing of the Household Waste and Recycling Bill, 2003 that will now finally bring kerbside collections to Forest Row;

• The Big Ask campaign for which last year’s successful public meeting in Forest Row Village Hall was one of many throughout the country which persuaded the government to announce a Climate Change Bill in the November 2006 Queen’s Speech.

He is an active member of the Steering committee which has now secured the status of FairTrade Village for Forest Row, and in 2006 was co-opted by the Forest Row Association to represent their interests within the Post Referendum Campaign group that is opposing the scale of housing development proposed for East Grinstead, and its potential impact on traffic through Forest Row.

In his spare time David is a keen snow boarder and sailing crew member, who also enjoys Sunday afternoon walks across Ashdown Forest with his family.

Vania Phitidis

Forest Row Ward

Vania moved to Forest Row with her husband and two young daughters in 2001.

She is halfway through an Msc degree called Education for Sustainability at London South Bank University.

She is also a co-presenter of Changing Worlds, a workshop designed to inform people in communities of the major issues facing our world today, while empowering them to take steps to transform it.

She was part of the core group which organised the public protest against the erection of the 3G mobile phone mast at Mid Sussex Timbers in 2005.

Recently, Vania spearheaded a new initiative in the Michael Hall School Christmas Fair committee, which started the process of further reducing the Fair’s impact on the environment.

Over the last two years she has developed a special interest and some expertise in securing educational provision for children with special needs.

Vania loves living in the village. She thinks it has a unique blend of access to nature, biodynamic community farms and a thriving, diverse community.

Keith Obbard

Frant & Withyham Ward

Keith has always lived in the Withyahm Parish.

After coming home from college in the mid 1970’s Keith ran the very popular Cherry Gardens Farm Shop & Pick Your Own business near Groombridge, with his wife, Sue, up until about the year 2000. During that time they raised a family, supporting the local schools, and getting involved in some of the local clubs & organisations.

Keith is still actively involved with the local beekeepers, although his skills as a grower are now only employed in producing a few fruit & veg. for the home.

Recently he has been working part-time for the RAMSAK cooperative, running the office & keeping the books.

Keith has a longstanding commitment to sustainable business & lifestyles, campaigning for more locally produced food, a GM free Sussex, more local shops and employment, and less domination of our lives by the Multinational corporations.

He has recently let out the Cherry Garden Farm for conversion to Bio-Dynamic farming, and wants to see the Local Government encouraging and helping us all to change our lifestyles to cope with the threats of peak oil and climate change.

Gabrielle Symonds

Crowborough St Johns Ward

Gabrielle, who has been a member of the Green Party for five years, was born into a farming family in the heart of Kipling country, and has live in East Sussex all her life.

As mother of four grown-up children with 3 grand children (all of whom have attended, or will attend St. Johns Primary School in Crowborough). Gabrielle knows the importance of good nutrition in ensuring her family’s on-going health, and that of the nation. Thus she is naturally a passionate supporter of fairly-priced GM free and organic food sold at farmers markets.

On a Wider scale, she supports the principles of Fair Trade and the Green Party’s stance on sustainable energy and un-polluted water. With party colleagues she joined in the anti-Iraq war protest march in London. Being strongly opposed to the inappropriate siting of mobile phone masts, she has supported projects to have these re-sited more safely.

For more that 25 years, Gabrielle has worked In the area of Complimentary Medicine and has organised events promoting therapies and ways of maintaining health and well-being, including yoga and meditation. With gardening as a favourite lobby, Gabrielle enjoys living as “green” a life as possible

Colin Stocks

Crowborough Jarvis Brook Ward

Colin has been a Crowborough resident since 1995, and has taken an active interest in local politics for much of that time, having stood as a candidate in town council elections on several occasions.

He has worked in Crowborough ever since moving to the town, and has made a point of living within walking distance of his employer.

In addition to being a supporter of many environmental charities and groups, Colin grows crops organically on his allotment, keeps honey bees on a local site, and manages an area of woodland using only hand tools (with the assistance of a few willing volunteers!). The hands-on application of environmental principles at a personal and local level help keep his political outlook on a practical level.

A bachelor of engineering degree in electronics from Southampton University gives Colin a valuable technical background, and helps him to understand the many complex issues surrounding energy generation and transport, two areas he has a particular interest in.

Peter Wright

Polegate North

Peter Wright moved to the area about ten years ago and has lived in Polegate with his partner since early 2000. He holds a joint honours degree in Marine Biology with Oceanography from the University of Wales taken at UCNW Bangor.

He has worked in the HSDU at Eastboune District General Hospital for eight years initially as a technician and more recently as a trainer.

This is Peter's first time as a candidate but he has a long standing interest in current affairs, particularly the issue of global warming, which he believes can only be tackled by action at all levels of society from local to international.

During his spare time he enjoys walking in the sussex countryside and has an interest in history and archaeology which led to an appearance on ‘Mastermind’ in 2005

Heidi Ruse

Hartfield Ward

Heidi has lived in this area since her childhood in the 1960’s, although she has also spent some periods living elsewhere in the UK and overseas. She is now settled here, and working as a teaching assistant in a local school

Heidi is a shareholder in the local organic farm co-operative and a keen supporter of local food producers, purchasing locally and organically wherever possible.

She is also concerned about the apparent mismanagement of Ashdown Forest, particularly the extensive tree felling that is currently taking place.

In her spare time, Heidi enjoys craftwork, theatre, concerts and walking.

Beth Martin

Wadhurst Ward

Beth moved to Wadhurst from London in 2003. Her daughter (5) and son (11) attend the local primary and secondary schools.

She worked for over 20 years at the BBC mostly as a producer with BBC World Service making programmes focused on education and development issues. She now works part-time as an Arts Education project manager encouraging teachers and artists to work in partnership.

Beth recently led a campaign against speeding in Wadhurst. She has also been active in protests against the erection of phone masts locally and lobbied for the introduction of recycling collections.

Beth loves living in Wadhurst (in an area of outstanding natural beauty). She believes that it’s important for the local community to use its power to protect and improve its resources – from the range of local shops, to low cost housing to improved public transport – to ensure that diverse local needs are met.

Izzy Riach

Willingdon

Izzy grew up locally before going away to university in Reading, and working for a short while in Bristol.

From 1997 she spent six and a half years in California where she did voluntary work for the Humane Society, the Inmate Literacy Program, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the Companion Animal Rescue Effort, and mentoring children at risk of being removed from their families.

Since 2003, she has been living with her 4 year old son in Willingdon. She believes that communities should have better schools, health care, and local employment that will cut down on the need for people to travel.

Since the beginning of 2005, Izzy has been on a mission to live more ethically and reduce waste by changing her buying practices, signing up to an organic box scheme, recycling more and declining carrier bags. By getting a wormery, she has reduced her household rubbish to a small bag once a fortnight. She has sold her car and gets around by bus, cycling and walking, therefore becoming much more aware of the needs for good transport planning. She grows her own organic fruit and vegetables, only buys environmentally-friendly cleaning products and toiletries that are not tested on animals, and is working on making her home more energy efficient. Rather than lecturing people on living ethically, she is trying to inspire people by her own example.