A TRANSGENDER activist has been selected to run for the Green Party in the Colin DEA in the upcoming Council election.
Ash Jones says that she is aiming to bring “better transport”, “safe streets” and “community energy power” to the area.
The 25-year-old, who says she's from the social justice wing of the party, could make history this May by becoming the first transgender person elected on the island of Ireland. However she will not be the first transgender person to contest an election in West Belfast, with Ellen Murray having previously run for the Green Party in the area in 2016 and in Colin in the 2019 local election.
“There’s a lot of deprivation and isolation in Colin," said Ash. “We’re often caught between the outskirts of Belfast and the outskirts of Lisburn.”
Ash said that this contributes to the reality that the area has “health and social care trusts that split Colin down the middle”. She went on to say that “there’s a real need for connectivity and for justice and representation for the people of Colin".
Her priorities include the need for powers to be transferred locally, for “communities to actually have services that run for people” and “community energy power” for local, sustainable and safe energy for people to have a stake in.
“We still haven’t had an LGBTQIA plus equality strategy come out of the Stormont Executive,” said Ash, who is part of Queer Greens, an LGBTQIA plus wing of the party.
Ash claims there’s “poor health” amongst LGBT people and, therefore, a “specific strategy” is needed to address this.
Ash says she's proud to be a member of the Green Party, which boasts of having two councillors, Mal O’Hara and Anthony Flynn, who are openly gay.
The aspiring councillor, who grew an affection for the Colin area through its “solidarity” and “sense of kinship and community”, is optimistic about the Green Party’s chances at the upcoming local elections.
“I think we’ve got a really good raft of candidates”, she said.
