VAL SAUNDERS
Val has lived in Stroud for 20 years and loves the area for its strong sense of social justice and community ethos.
In her job as a support worker and art tutor, Val is used to working with people of all ages and abilities and enjoys helping beginners to develop their creative talents.
A former Green Town Councillor in Stroud, she is familiar with how local democracy works and feels that stepping up to the District Council would be an opportunity to contribute to the local community.
Val aspires to help the council protect all its green spaces and meet its goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2030 or before.
She is particularly interested in working to get empty buildings brought back into use by the community, as affordable work/life units.
Before joining the Green Party, Val was a Labour supporter but switched sides in disgust at the way Jeremy Corbyn was treated as the Labour Party became more right-wing.
She is active in various environmental campaign groups, including Extinction Rebellion, Friends of the Earth and the campaign against the HS2 rail project. She is also involved in the Defend our Juries campaign, which seeks to maintain the right of jurors to reach independent verdicts.