Tony Clark is the Green Party candidate for this week’s by-election in the Trevethin and Penygarn ward.
He explains why he is standing and why he thinks you should vote for him on Thursday 13 February. Scroll down to see information on the other four candidates.
“I have lived or worked in the Pontypool area for the last 17 years. I was originally from Newport, having been raised in a single parent household on a large council estate. I left school when I was 16 and attended a local further education college. I am now retired, having spent my career in construction, the NHS and social housing.
“I spent some time in the Labour Party but became disillusioned with their change of direction and the abandonment of ordinary people. Only the Green Party offered the change needed to the political establishment. Post industrial neglect has hit our area extremely hard. On a local level, this has resulted in the growth of food banks and the decay of the town centre.
“Many people have suffered at some stage from anti-social behaviour, petty crime, or intimidation, including my family. The latest proposal to reduce the number of Community Police Officers in Gwent is another cause for concern. Many people rely on the local bus service which is of mixed quality, the one recurrent issue being the high cost of local, short journeys.
“Why should you vote for the Green Party? Of course, there are global issues, at a national level we have a commitment to proper funding for services funded in part by progressive taxation, the proper funding of the NHS and political reform to better represent the values of the electorate. At the local level Green councillors are already working hard for their communities in many areas across Wales.
“Existing politics requires adherence to political dogma with independent thought being discouraged at local and national level. The Green Party encourages representatives to have open minds and does not whip it councillors allowing them to listen to and act on what their constituents are telling them. The choice at this election is not just a tired establishment or ugly populism. The electorate deserve better than that and have the chance to vote for it in the form of the Green Party.”