On Thursday we have elections for WECA Mayor and Police and Crime Commissioner. What are these roles, how does the vote work and who are the Green candidates?
When we pick up our ballot papers at the polling stations on Thursday most of us will have two positions to vote for. In this post we tell you a bit about these two roles, who is standing locally for the Green Party and how the voting works.
Regional Mayor
The first is for the mayor of the West of England Combined Authority, which covers Bath & North East Somerset, Bristol and South Gloucestershire. The Regional Mayor makes decisions on issues across the region, including, transport, homes, business, jobs and the economy and leads on the recovery plan for the region.
Our Green candidate for WECA Mayor is Jerome Thomas. Jerome is an an experienced Green Councillor and a successful business director.
- For more information about the WECA Mayor election, click here
- For more information about Jerome, click here
Police and Crime Commissioner
Police and Crime Commissioners ensure the policing needs of communities are met effectively and oversee how crime is tackled in your police force area.
For the Avon and Somerset region, our Green Party candidate is Cleo Lake. Cleo has been an elected Brisol City Councillor since 2016, was Lord Mayor of Bristol 2018/19 and is chair of the Diversity Inclusion Cohesion and Equalities Committee of Avon Fire Authority. Cleo’s vision is for “to build a modern police force who work with communities, for communities”.
- For more information about Police and Crime Commissioners, click here
- For more information about Cleo, click here
How does the voting work?
Both of these roles are decided using the supplementary voting method. In this approach, every voter can pick up to two choices. When all the first choices are counted, if one candidate has more than 50% of the votes then they are elected. However, if no candidate has more than 50% of the first-choice votes then all but the top two candidates are eliminated. In this case any eliminated ballots that put one of the top two as second choice are reallocated.
Supplementary voting may sound complicated but for voters it is simple: it allows you to pick the candidate you really like best and pick a second choice who you think is more likely to win.
Are there any other votes going on?
In Frenchay and Downend ward, voters will also be able to vote for a South Glos Councillor. For this you only have one vote (like in general elections). Our Green Party candidate for Frenchay and Downend is Oliver Owen. Read more about him here.
You may also have seen in the local press that there are lots of elections going on in Bristol, for Bristol mayor and many city council positions. Although decisions going on in Bristol have an impact on many of us in South Glos, only people who live in the Bristol City Council area can vote on those positions.
Want to get involved?
The Green Party does not have the resources of the larger parties. We welcome all support to help ensure there is a strong voice for the environment and for a society that works for everyone. You can help by:
- Following us on social media and sharing our tweets, Facebook posts and blog posts like this one
- Telling your friends about the Green Party
- Volunteering to put flyers through doors. Comment or email us if you’d like to find out how to help.
- Joining the Green Party
- Donating to support a greener future
… and, of course, voting Green this Thursday!
