Hotel Manager,- Sportswoman,
- Anti-racism campaigner,
- Liberal Democrat Town Councillor in Camborne.
I was one of those rare folk who filled in the little box on the back of a Focus saying that I’d be happy to give a hand now and again with delivery or clerical work. Up until then I has been involved in single issue campaigns. I was involved in community outreach campaigns as Anti-Racism Officer at Southampton University.
The constituency organiser at the time, (Colin Martin) had introduced me to different duties and responsibilities over the few months I had been volunteering with the local Lib Dems and convinced me that being a council candidate was the next step.
I never had any reservations, I thought it would be an honour to be given the chance to represent and contribute to the area I had grown up in. If I hadn’t been asked to stand though, I probably wouldn’t have ever thought about it - I was so used to the reputation of the council being full of very senior, serious people that it just didn’t occur to me I would be able to be a councillor at my age.
My aim once elected was to be a new, approachable face whom all groups of the community felt they could approach with a problem they wanted me to sort out. I really enjoyed challenging perspectives at the council, and asking why something has just always been done the same way out of tradition and not because it is actually delivering a result! Helping residents through the minefield of which department does what and who can help them with their issue is another key part of what I do.
Being the first councillor to have ever knocked on some doors - the slogging from door to door, rushing around, taking flak etc is absolutely worth it when someone is genuinely surprised and pleased that I could be bothered to come round to see them. It’s my ambition to get a non-voter to eventually become a councillor!
I am a hotel manager in St Ives at one of the UK’s leading sustainable hotels. I am specialised in training and people development and am a former ambassador for the Institute of Leadership and Management.And I manage regular fixtures for my netball in Camborne Park and am a trustee of the Hub Club sports project.
See more about what Anna and her continuing campaign on her website here
