Councillor Profiles

Bunhill

Councillor Donna Boffa

Donna is a youth worker and mother of five. She was born in Finsbury, and has lived in the area ever since. She is particularly interested in all areas connected to young people, and chairs the council's Corporate Parenting Committee, which oversees looked-after children in Islington. She volunteers at Hugh Middleton School, where one of her children goes, and used to run a football team at Toffee Park playground. As long-term resident she felt that the area was neglected by the Labour council, so fought to remove them from office.

Email: donna.boffa@islington.gov.uk

Councillor Ruth Polling

Ruth Polling has been Executive Member for Leisure and Equalities since May 2007, where she provides political and strategic direction of sport, leisure, green space, cemeteries, arts, library equalities and community cohesion within the borough. She has been a Liberal Democrat party activist for ten years and has worked for the party since leaving school.

Ruth was the Vice Chair of Liberal Democrat Youth and Student Organisation from November 1999 to November 2000 where she first became a party trainer. She has served at all levels of the Liberal Democrats (local, regional, national, federal and national policymaking) Most recently she was a member of the party's working group on poverty, opportunity, and equality.

Her proudest achievements as a Councillor have been getting the Council and National Grid to work together in her local ward of Bunhill to ensure that there is an agreed procedure to ensure that gas failures are quickly dealt with and getting recycling for Bunhill. More recently, she has been proud of the consultation on the redevelopment of Ironmonger Row Baths and Finsbury Leisure Centre. She is also proud getting funding for and raising the profile of Islington arts through her role as an Executive Councillor.

Ruth lives in the centre of her ward on the King Square Estate with her long-term partner Chris. When she is not campaigning for local residents she enjoys reading novels, swimming and going to the cinema.

Email: ruth.polling@islington.gov.uk

Councillor Jyoti Vaja

Jyoti is a leaseholder on St Luke's estate and has lived there with her family for most of her life. She has been a councillor in Bunhill since 1998 and has been chair of the Contracted Services Committee, a member of the council's executive, and Mayor of Islington.

Email: jyoti.vaja@islington.gov.uk

Surgery details: Cllrs Boffa, Polling or Vaja first and third Friday of the month from 6.00pm to 7.30pm at Central Street Area Housing Office, 85 Central Street, EC1V 8DT. There are no surgeries in August or on bank holidays.

Canonbury

Councillor Paula Belford

Paula has lived in Islington all her life. She currently lives on the Dover Court Estate, with her family. Paula has been very involved in community activities in Islington including running sports clubs and youth activities and representing her estate. Paula was elected in 2006, and was quickly promoted to be the Liberal Democrat group Chief Whip.

Email: paula.belford@islington.gov.uk

Councillor Barbara Smith

Barbara Smith was first elected to Islington Council in 1998 for the ward of Canonbury West, which subsequently became part of the larger Canonbury ward.

She is currently a member of the Corporate Service Committee and the newly formed Health and Well Being Scrutiny Committee, but she served on the Overview Committee for five years, where she headed up several education reviews, including one on the Education of Looked-after Children. She is also a member of the South Area Planning Committee.

She is a Governor of New North Community School, now in a splendid new building in Popham Road, and was previously on the Governing Body of Highbury Grove Secondary School. Her first experience as a School Governor was on the Governing Body of St Joan of Arc School Highbury, which she joined in 1984. She has also been a Governor of London Metropolitan University.

Her interest in ballet and the theatre led to her appointment as one of the Council's representatives on Sadler's Wells Foundation and she serves on the board of Islington United Charities.

Barbara was Mayor of Islington for the civic year 2007 / 8 during which period she completed five hundred engagements, opening everything from the Alsen Day centre to brightly painted rubbish bins at Sickert Court. Highlight of her year : riding in full Mayor robes - and a crash helmet - on the back of a Harley Davidson.

Barbara lists her occupation as 'retired', but when she was employed she was on the staff of the Library of the London College of Fashion. Barbara has lived in Islington for a number of years with her husband, Paul

Email: barbara.smith@islington.gov.uk

Councillor Lucy Watt

Lucy is Joint Deputy Leader of the London Borough of Islington and the Executive Member for Communities, Skills and Business.

Lucy was first elected as a councillor in Canonbury ward, Islington, in May 2002, aged 24. She became one of the two deputy leaders, and a full time executive councillor in May 2006.

Lucy has a professional background in regeneration and supporting unemployed people into work. An English graduate, and trained journalist, Lucy switched career path to work in Tower Hamlets helping young, unemployed people get jobs, because she is particularly motivated by helping people who are in challenging situations to move forward and reach their potential. Her work led her to develop national, innovative unemployment programmes that focus on helping each person as an individual to overcome personal barriers and get a fulfilling job. Lucy has also worked as a volunteer at Stonewall and the Stroke Association.

In her role on the council, Lucy is responsbile for providing strategic direction in the following areas: Regeneration, Community Development, the Voluntary Sector, the Business Community, Town Centres, Markets, Worklessness and Unemployment, Adult Skills, the Local Development Framework and Strategic Planning, the Islington Strategic Partnership, and Neighbourhood Management.

Lucy was the Executive Member for the Environment from 2006-8 and under her leadership, tackling climate change has become a key council priority. The Islington launched a successful Climate Change Partnership (of 100+ large and small organistions in Islington) that has already met its year 1 target to reduce carbon emissions, and, along with its £3million Climate Change Fund for renewable projects, Islington, under the Liberal Democrats, become a leader in the field of tackling climate change. Lucy has also overseen a renegotiation of the contract with Islington's waste contractors, Islington Enterprise, to improve performance and deliver cleaner streets for our residents. Lucy also took on the challenge of reforming our parking policy, and delivered the Common Sense Parking initiative, to make parking enforcement in Islington more resident friendly.

Lucy is also chair of the Canonbury Community Development Group (CCDG) - the Neighbourhood Management Group for Canonbury, and is a Governor of the Cripplegate Foundation - a local grant giving charity.

Lucy has lived in Islington for 7 years, and loves its diversity, distinct character and, most of all, the people who live here.

Email: lucy.watt@islington.gov.uk | Facebook profile: http://profile.to/cllrlucywatt/

Surgery details: Cllrs Belford, Smith or Watt second Wednesday of the month at 7.00pm at Almorah Community Hall, 58 Almorah Road, N1 3EU. Fourth Saturday of the month at 10.30am at St Jude and St Paul's Church Hall, St Paul's Road, (near junction with Essex Road), N1. Please arrive before 11.00am. There are no surgeries on Bank Holidays.

Clerkenwell

Councillor George Allan

Before being elected as a councillor in 1998, George had an active role in a variety of environmental groups in and around Clerkenwell for more than 20 years. He is particularly interested in planning and heritage, and chairs the South Area Planning Committee.

Fax: 020 7527 3008

Email: george.allan@islington.gov.uk

Councillor Kelly Peasnell

Kelly lives on a council estate in Clerkenwell and is a well known member of the local community. Professionally she is a social worker. Email: kelly.peasnell@islington.gov.uk

Councillor Marisha Ray

Marisha lives with her family in Clerkenwell. She is an active campaigner at a London-wide level for the Liberal Democrats. Before coming onto the council in 2002 Marisha was a systems analyst with Marks & Spencer.

Marisha has served Islington as the Executive Member for Community Safety, and worked closely with the police and other agencies to make sure that their priorities reflected the real needs of local residents on the ground. As chair of the Regeneration Review Committee from 2004 to 2006 she led a major review into the use of CCTV and how it should be managed and improved.

Email: marisha.ray@islington.gov.uk

Surgery details: Cllrs Allan, Peasnell or Ray first and third Wednesday of the month at 6.30pm at Finsbury Library, 245 St. John Street, EC1V 4NB. There are no surgeries in August.

Highbury East

http://www.highburyeast.org.uk/

Councillor John Gilbert

John is a solicitor. Before that he was an officer in the Overseas Civil Service working for the Hong Kong Government.

He is Islington's Executive Member for Health and Adult Social Services, providing political and strategic direction of all health and social care for adults.

Email: john.gilbert@islington.gov.uk | Facebook profile: http://profile.to/1950gilbert/

Councillor Terry Stacy

Terry has been a councillor in Islington since 2002, and was a councillor in Tower Hamlets for 4 years previously. Has a background in public sector housing, regeneration and community safety. Terry is Islington's Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Housing and Community Safety, and provides political and strategic direction of housing and community safety within the borough.

Terry has been a Councillor for over ten years, first in Tower Hamlets in East London and now in Islington, were he is Deputy Leader of the Council and leads on Housing & Regeneration for the Council. Terry is the Housing spokesman for the Liberal Demcorats at London Councils.

Terry is Chair of Old Ford Housing Association, which is part of the Circle Angila Group, a Director of the Empty Homes Agency and a tenant director of the Independent Housing Ombudsman Service. He is a housing Association tenant himself in Highbury and a Tenant Inspection Adviser to the Audit Commission

Terry Stacy was a freelance Consultant with a London based Regeneration Consultancy, before becoming a Councillor, where he headed up over £25 million pounds worth of Regeneration funds across a number of Boroughs in the Capital.

Email: terry.stacy@islington.gov.uk

Councillor Laura Willoughby MBE

Laura has been an elected councillor for ten years on an inner London local authority and has considerable experience of championing residents' issues to improve local services. She has experience and interests in equalities, regeneration, leisure, voluntary sector and health. Laura was recently Chief Executive of a charity delivering nutrition services to people with HIV and HIV related illnesses and is currently a political advisor at London Councils. She also sits on the Big Lottery Fund Reaching Communities Board and the Nags Head Town Centre Management Committee. She was awarded in MBE in 2005 for services to the community in London.

Her interests include riding her moped, diving, and stand-up comedy.

Email: laura.willoughby@islington.gov.uk

Surgery details: Cllrs Gilbert, Stacy or Willoughby second Saturday of the month from 11.00am at Central Library, 2 Fieldway Crescent, N5 1PF.

Hillrise

Councillor Fiona Dunlop

Fiona first moved to London from Grangemouth, Scotland in 1980 and settled in this area in 1987. She has always been active in the community and now lives on the Elthorne Estate.

Email: fiona.dunlop@islington.gov.uk

Councillor Greg Foxsmith

Greg is the new Executive Member for Environment since May 2008. Greg is a solicitor with a legal aid practice specialising in criminal defence. His legal work and rehabilitating ex-offenders got him involved in community work, including some with Islington Council.

Nationally, Greg campaigns on law and order issues, against ID cards and the government's ongoing programme of legal aid cuts which are disenfranchising people from their legal rights. He is a member of the Howard League for Penal Reform, and Amnesty International.

Locally Greg has campaigned for improvements in local parks, for improved road safety, and for improvements to the local ambulance service.A keen motorcyclist and cyclist, Greg is a member of Islington Cycle Action Group, and is a supporter of local sports clubs including Elthorne Boxing Club for whom he has raised money.

He is married to Sonya and has two children, Adam (4) and Daniel (1). Greg has a profile on Facebook - so please add him to your friends list.

Email: greg.foxsmith@islington.gov.uk

Councillor Julia Williams

Julia lives on Hazelville Road in Hillrise ward. Originally from Wales, where she also went to University, she moved to London where she has worked in catering and retail. As well as being a councillor, Julia supports the local community centres in the area, especially with their activities with the young and elderly.

Email: julia.williams@islington.gov.uk

Surgery details: Cllrs Dunlop, Foxsmith or Williams first Wednesday of the month at 6.30pm at Caxton House, 129 St John's Way, N19 3RQ. Third Saturday of the month at 11.00am at Caxton House, 129 St John's Way, N19 3RQ.

Junction

Councillor Stefan Kasprzyk

Stefan is the current Mayor of Islington for the 2008/09 period. Stefan was born and bred in Islington to Polish parents who settled here after the Second World War. He has been a ward councillor for 6 years, and has enjoyed a career as a BBC Outside Broadcast Senior Engineer in TV and radio. His speciality is in broadcast microwave (S.H.F.) engineering, satellite broadcasting, radio telephony (V.H.F. and U.H.F), V.H.F, U.H.F and S.H.F wideband music broadcasting, cable and telephony transmission. His interests include everything to do with transport and railways, broadcasting and travel.

He has a strong interest in public transport, and is Islington council's Lib Dem lead member for Integrated Transport.

Email: stefan.kasprzyk@islington.gov.uk

Councillor Ursula Woolley

Ursula Woolley has been Executive Member for Children & Young People since May 2006. As a mother of three young children, she is passionately committed to working to improve education in the borough.

She is leading the Council's Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme which will see all Islington's secondary schools completely rebuilt or substantially refurbished, as well as renewal programmes for several primary schools. She has also taken the leading role in ensuring that meals provided in schools are of high quality.

Prior to her election as a councillor Ursula was a senior manager abroad for the British Council, working in several countries in eastern Europe and developing partnerships with the UK.

Fax: 020 7527 3008

Email: ursula.woolley@islington.gov.uk

Surgery details: Cllrs Kasprzyk or Woolley first and third Wednesdays of the month at 6.30pm at Archway Library, Hamlyn House, Highgate Hill, N19 5PH.

Mildmay

Councillor Anna Berent

Anna Berent has lived at her present address in Mildmay for the past 25 years and has been active in various campaigns and activities within the ward and the borough for much of that time: from 'No Channel Tunnel Link through Islington' which led to Eurostar trains coming to St Pancras through in a tunnel. instead of roaring along surface tracks; to the transformation of Newington Green, through NGAG; and organization of the St Paul's Shrubbery Festival, which has been run every summer (bar one) for almost 20 years.

Her professional background has been in journalism and in the Health Service. She was a founder member of both the SDP and the Liberal Democrats and was elected to the Council in 2002. She is currently Deputy Mayor; Older People's Champion for Islington and Chair of East Area Planning.. Her particular passion is the environment - in the widest sense - and her major concern is the impact of climate change on present and future generations.

Email: anna.berent@islington.gov.uk

Councillor Meral Ece

Elected as councillor for Mildmay in 2002, Meral was born and grew up in Islington. She worked for Islington Council in a number of roles, including librarian, voluntary sector manager, and race equality officer, before pursuing a career in the NHS where she was the chief officer of a Community Health Council.

Meral was the Executive Member for Health & Social Care 2002-6; a board member of Islington PCT, and a non-executive director of Camden & Islington Health & Social Care Trust. Meral is the Chair of the Council's Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

Meral is a member of the Liberal Democrats Federal Executive, and chair of the Ethnic Minority Liberal Democrats.

In September 2007, Meral was selected by Liberal Democrats in North East London (Islington, Hackney & Waltham Forest), to be their candidate for the London Assembly, on May 1 2008.

Meral has 3 children, and lives in Highbury.

Email: meral.ece@islington.gov.uk | Blog: http://meralece.blogspot.com/

Councillor Rhodri Jamieson-Ball

Rhodri first moved into Islington in 2000 and was elected as councillor in 2006. As an active local campaigner, Rhodri has campaigned for more council housing for local residents, improved parks in Mildmay and better policing. Rhodri is also active locally, being a board member of Mildmay Community Partnership, Govenor of Newington Green School and a member of Mildmay Neighbourhood Management Steering Group.

On the council, Rhodri is Chair of East Area Committee, Vice-Chair of Sustainability Review Committee and Vice-Chair of East Area Planning Sub-committee.

Email: rhodri.jamieson-ball@islington.gov.uk

Surgery details: Cllr Ece or Jamieson-Ball on the first Saturday of the month from 10.30am to 11.30am at Mildmay Library, 21-23 Mildmay Park, N1 4NA. There is no surgery at this venue in August. Cllr Berent at the New Park Day Centre, 19 Highbury New Park, N5 from 6.30 to 7.30 on the second Wednesday of the month.

St George's

Councillor Tracy Ismail

Tracy Ismail has lived in Islington for 10 years with her partner, who is Islington born and bred. She has two daughters aged 8 and 12. Tracy's partner is a Turkish Cypriot, and spends most family holidays are spent in Northern Cyprus.

Tracy was born in Pakistan, and also lived in Spain, Holland, Lebanon and South Africa while growing up. She believes this experience made her very well rounded and tolerant of other peoples beliefs and cultures.

Email: tracy.ismail@islington.gov.uk

Surgery details: Cllr Ismail first Saturday of the month at 10.00am to 11.00am at John Barnes Library, 275 Camden Road, N7 0JN.

St Mary's

Councillor Emily Fieran-Reed

Emily Fieran-Reed lives in the middle of her ward, having resided in Islington for 6 years. She qualified as a Barrister and works on criminal law matters for a Local Authority in East London. Emily has been active in the Liberal Democrat Party for over 10 years.

Locally, Emily has campaigned for improvements in local parks, against the destruction of local trees, and against the anti-social behaviour associated with licensed premises. Nationally, Emily has led campaigns against ID cards and against the Iraq War.

She is also a governor of Laycock School and a Community Mental Health Champion for the Camden and Islington Mental Health and Social Care Trust.

Email: emily.fieran-reed@islington.gov.uk

Councillor James Kempton

James has been a councillor since 1994, representing the area of Islington where both he and his mother were born. He served as Leader of Islington Council from 2006-2009 and Deputy Leader/Lead member for Children 2000-2006. James' first career was in health, culminating in serving as the first Chief Executive of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. After this he retrained to teach history, working in an East London comprehensive school.

James leads on education and children's services issues in London as Executive Member for Children and Young People for London Councils. He Chairs the London 14-19 Education Regional Planning Group.

He is also a governor of St Mary Magdalene Academy and of City & Islington College. In addition, he is a London Child Poverty Commissioner, and a member of the London Skills and Employment Board.

Email: James.Kempton@islington.gov.uk

Facebook profile: James Kempton

Surgery details: Cllrs Fieran-Reed or Kempton second and fourth Wednesday of the month at 6.00pm to 7.00pm at Town Hall, Upper Street, N1 2UD. There are no surgeries in August.