Monday 18 April 2011

SYDENHAM UNITED AGAIN FOR LABOUR

Sydenham Fairfax & Dunwear wards United
The new boundary changes have divided up the old Sydenham ward of Bridgwater right down the middle. North of the Rollercoaster and including Bower Manor it;s FAIRFAX , whilst south  and including Bridge estate it's Dunwear. But this hasn't detered Labour from keeping Sydenham on the map! Graham Granter (Fairfax) and Ian Tucker (Dunwear) were joined on the Sydenham campaign trail today by Labour group leader Kathy Pearce to get the Labour message across that Bridgwater needs Labour Councillors to represent it.

Focus on Fairfax

The Fairfax (North Sydenham ) ward strecthes from the shops on Parkway to the Bath road, bounded by the Railway in the west and the Town Boundary in the east. Graham Granter, who has represented Sydenham for 8 years as a Town & District councillor says "My ward now includes the Bower manor estate which returned 3 Tories last time so we've got a battle on our hands ! However, we're out on the doorsteps and the response has been good. We know the Tories are worried and we know they're unpopular because of the Splash closure. But we need to get the word across that people must turn out an vote on the day and make sure it;s for Labour."

Reg Winslow (Fairfax)
Graham has been joined by two new candidates. Reg Winslow worked for Sedgemoor until his retirement this year in the Environment and Clean Surroundings department and now that he's free of the shackles of Local Government has come out square behind the Labour Campaign and is determined to get onto the Council and get things done properly.  His role as a Contracts Officer primarily involved waste collection, street cleaning and Town centre work. The latter included working with Bridgwater Town Centre Managers. He was also instrumental in implementing and managing improvements carried out to the paved area outside Parkway shops, which had been neglected and fallen into disrepair.
Reg says “My role with Sedgemoor Council has always been front line, dealing directly with customers and Councillors, ensuring and achieving good service delivery to residents. I have built good working relationships with many colleagues  in various departments during my time with Sedgemoor Council and would This should prove useful in my role as a Councillor .  I would see my primary role as acting for and on behalf of residents and to represent residents’ interests.”

Alex Glassford (Fairfax)
 Graham's second new partner on Sydenham Fairfax ward is Alex Glassford who was born in Scotland yet has lived in Bridgwater for nearly 30 years, the last 18 of them on the  Sydenham Clarks estate. He worked for the NHS for 10 years in management and as a general manager at Paragon laundry in Bridgwater for 14 years. Alex has also been engaged in voluntary work as a school bus driver for disabled children. He was Treasurer of the Railway club for 6 years and ran his own business for the past 5. He has been the chairman of the GWRSA (Exeter area) for the past 8 years. Alex says "Because I've been in Bridgwater for so long I'd like to contribute something back into the community and to help people out where I can. I'm a passionate believer in public services and i'm appalled when I see the Tories cutting back on everything"

Tories on the way out

The Tories are so certain that sitting councillor Mike Cresswell will lose his  seat that they have dropped him as proposed SDC Chairman for next year while his partner in crime ,David Hall, is suffering equal bouts of unpopularity as he is on the Somerset County ruling Tory executive which has cut funding through swathes of Community services . The third Tory candidate in Fairfax, Peter Lowe, achieved notoriety recently when he was the only solitary person at the 200 strong Bridgwater town meeting to vote in favour of Tescos.

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