Kath Scott, the founder of online community hub ‘Boldmere Mums’, has announced her intention to stand for local council office.
She will be standing in Sutton Vesey on a ‘joint ticket’ with Rob Pocock, and admitted it wasn’t always her ambition to run for council:
“It’s never been my ambition! But what happened was when I started Boldmere Mums, about six years ago, I thought when I’ve achieved what I need to achieve, I’ll do it.” Scott said.
“In the last couple of years, I’ve thought, ‘I think I’ll do it’, so I can represent people in the City then.”
That’s the way to rebuild public trust – conventional politics has let people down! #boldmerelive https://t.co/7bn5g6W83p
— Rob Pocock (@RobPocock1) November 20, 2017
Kath Scott is well known for her work with Boldmere Mums, an online community which Birmingham Eastside have previously covered, and harnessing those ideas of communication is a key concept for her.
“I’d like to do online surgeries. It’s how people engage these days. If you have a Facebook page and people can book appointments through that, then you can communicate with them via Skype or video call. I answer a lot of queries about schools issues just through my Facebook site anyway, so it’s building on that.”
One local issue that has hit the headlines is the ‘Parking Plonkers’ initiative, which is targeting illegal parking around the Sutton Coldfield area, and it’s an issue that she believes will only become more prevalent.
“It’s a sign of community activism working. But the crime aspect of this is in the Sutton Vesey ward is of a real concern to a lot of people. Crime has actually doubled in the last five years, while the Police presence has halved. Four years ago there were 10 Police Officers assigned to our ward, now there are only four.”