Councillor Profiles

Canonbury

Councillor Paula Belford

Paula has lived in Islington all her life, as have five generations of her family. She lives on the Dover Court Estate in Canonbury, with her family. Paula has been very involved in community activities in Islington for a number of years, 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. In May 2009 she was appointed as the Executive Member for Children and Young People, she is currently the Shadow Executive Member for Children's Services. She spends much of her time helping local residents with housing problems, visiting and keeping an eye out for elderly neighbours and encouraging young people to get more involved in their communities. She is a school governor.

Email: paula.belford@islington.gov.uk

Canonbury Ward Website.

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. In May 2009 he was appointed Deputy Mayor, took on the role of Liberal Democrat Chief Whip and is Vice-Chair of the South Area Committee.

Fax: 020 7527 3008

Email: george.allan@islington.gov.uk

Clerkenwell Ward Website.

Highbury East

Councillor John Gilbert

John is the Shadow Executive Member for Finance. He was formerly the Executive Member for Finance when the council was run by the Lib Dems, he was in charge of the council's money and leading on the Liberal Democrat commitment to deliver value for money while keeping council tax down. From 2006 to 2008 he was Executive Member for Adult Social Services and was proud to oversee improvements in services for older and vulnerable citizens which led Government assessors to grant Islington the highest, "4 star", ranking for its adult social services.

John has lived in Highbury for 18 years and is an active member of Christ Church, Highbury. He is a governor of St John's School, Highbury Vale, a governor of the Cripplegate Foundation and a trustee of Housing Justice, a national church-based housing charity with which he got involved through volunteering at the Islington churches' winter night shelter for homeless people. John is married with 2 grown-up children and 3 still at home, all of whom have attended school in Islington. By profession, John is a solicitor, having previously worked as an overseas civil servant.

Email: john.gilbert@islington.gov.uk

Highbury East Ward Website.

Councillor Terry Stacy

Terry is the Leader of Islington Liberal Democrats and the Shadow Executive Member for Housing. He has been a councillor for nearly 12 years - in Islington since 2002 and previously in Tower Hamlets for 4 years. He has a background in public sector housing, regeneration and community safety having worked at a senior level in a number of local authorities and Housing Associations.

Terry is Chair of Island Homes a community based housing association in East London, which is part of One Housing Group; a tenant director of the Independent Housing Ombudsman Service and a member of the London Housing Board, which is part of the Homes & Communities agency and chaired by the Mayor of London. He is a Housing Association tenant himself in Highbury and a Tenant Inspection Adviser to the Audit Commission.

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

Email: terry.stacy@islington.gov.uk

Highbury East Ward Website.

Councillor Julie Horten

Julie lives with her husband in Highbury. She is a governor at Highbury Grove School and has been delighted by the recently completed re-building of the school. Julie has a long-standing passion and commitment to improving school standards in Islington and was formerly a governor at Drayton Park primary school.

Julie is an ardent Arsenal fan and enjoys watching them play when she is not busy campaigning.

Julie has campaigned to freeze council tax and stop the ticket office opening hours being cut at Drayton Park station.

Highbury East website.

Hillrise

Councillor Lorraine Constantinou

Lorraine Constantinou (formerly Lorraine O'Neill), came to England from Ireland over 50 years ago with her mother and her family. Lorraine grew up in Dublin but for the last 30 years she has been an Islington resident, living on the Elthorne Estate in Hillrise ward.

Lorraine is a truly local candidate. She manages a housing co-operative on the Elthorne Estate, helping residents with housing issues and ensuring the estate is well-maintained. She is an active community campaigner and is particularly interested in issues affecting fellow pensioners and in community safety. Lorraine is a member of the police Safer Neighbourhood Panel and successfully campaigned to get a dispersal zone on the Elthorne Estate to give the police extra powers to deal with troublemakers.

Councillor Greg Foxsmith

Passionate about the environment, Greg was the Councils Lead Member for Environment. He championed green issues, and has been proud to see Islington winning awards for its climate change and sustainability work. Under the Lib Dems, Islington also increased the amount of rubbish we recycle to nearly 35% (from 3% ). Greg is now the Shadow Executive Member for Regeneration and Leisure.

By background Greg is a civil liberties lawyer in a legal aid practice specialising in criminal defence. His legal and voluntary work in rehabilitating ex-offenders got him national recognition for his mentoring programme (as featured on BBC documentary "Make me Honest"). He has commented on various issues for programmes on radio and TV, and once appeared as a guest on Richard and Judy!

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 Liberty, 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 also 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 (6) who attends Ashmount School, and Daniel (2) who is at Margaret McMillan nursery where Greg is one of the Governors. Greg has a profile on Facebook - so please add him to your friends list.

Email: greg.foxsmith@islington.gov.uk

Hillrise Ward Website.

Junction

Councillor Ursula Woolley

Ursula Woolley is Islington Lib Dems' Deputy Leader and Shadow Executive Member for Health and Social Care.

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

Junction Ward Website.

Councillor Arthur Graves

Arthur and his family live on Tufnell Park Road.

Arthur is firmly committed to the local community and is a member of the Junction Safer Neighbourhood Panel, Tufnell Park Parents Support Group, Tufnell Park Rd Residents Group, Islington Gardeners, Islington Historical Society, Friends of the Whittington Hospital and Friends of Whittington Park. He takes an active interest in the work of the Better Archway Forum and attends meetings of the Islington Community Police Consultative Group.

Arthur is the Shadow Executive Member for the Environment and was formerly a councillor in Camden.

His particular areas of activity have been in ensuring residents are properly represented throughout major PFI renewals to the Chalcot Estate (approx 2,500 residents - a mixture of council tenants and leaseholders); advising and supporting residents with planning and licensing applications or objections; ASB/community safety casework; youth issues and a strong focus on ensuring appropriate levels of customer service from Council staff.

Arthur feels strongly about representing people in the area in which he lives and so is seeking election in Junction Ward. He will not be re-standing in Camden at the May 2010 elections. Please see the Testimonials page for details of some of Arthur's achievements as a Councillor in Camden.

Phone: 07914 658 777

Email: arthurgraves@junctionliberaldemocrats.org.uk

Junction ward website.

Mildmay

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.

Rhodri became the Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Islington North last September and has been campaigning to save the Whittington A&E.

On the council, Rhodri has been the Chair of East Area Committee, Vice-Chair of Sustainability Review Committee and Vice-Chair of East Area Planning Sub-committee. He is currently the Shadow Executive Member for Crime and Community Safety.

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

Rhodri Jamieson-Ball's Website.

Mildmay Ward Website.

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. She is Chair of the Licensing Committee and the Licensing Regulatory Committee.

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

St George's Ward Website.

Councillor David Wilson

David is a television director, and has lived in Tufnell Park Road with his family for 25 years. He was concerned in theplanning discussions which led to the refurbishment the House of the Rock, and he has been involved in neighbourhood community groups for more than 20 years.

St George's ward website.

St Mary's

Councillor Susan Buchanan

Susan first moved to Islington in 1982 and now lives in St Mary's Ward. During this time she has been active within the community as a local campaigner and also as a member of local organisations - currently the Islington Business Partnership, Islington Chamber of Commerce, and Friends of the Union Chapel. She is the mother of a teenage son and has a design business in the ward.

Her wide experience of life and Islington enables her to connect and empathise with people in many different situations. As a mother she is concerned with safety on the streets and in the home. Other personal issues are a tighter control on licensing, improving housing conditions, and civil liberties.

Susan is particularly interested in environmental issues and is keen to see Islington's unique nature preserved - retaining its historical legacy balanced by enhancing modernisation to create a borough that the local community can be proud of. She has been active in helping to raise funds to repair the Union Chapel tower and has spoken out about removing unnecessary street furniture and clutter, as well as licensing problems.

St Mary's Ward Website.