Clive Graham Ray – Independent candidate Maesydre by-election

We have offered all candidates the (free) chance to promote themselves ahead of the Maesydre by-election, below is an unedited submission from this candidate.

You can view all the candidates standing here, and read all of their Q&A’s from the main Maesydre by-election page.

Candidate video

The Q&A

Tell us about who you are, any political history and why you have the political leanings that you do.

I am Clive Ray Independent candidate for Maes Y Dre. I have followed local politics for many years as a local resident. I am first to admit I don’t have any political history/experience in local government but I see this as a positive not a negative because I am a fresh pair of eyes so to speak with a fresh approach with the sole purpose of representing the community of Maes Y Dre. I have spoken to many councillors both past and present from the different parties and they all agree on one thing, that the training provided to be a councillor is very good so with this in mind and my passion I am confident I can represent the community. I am not affiliated to any political party and have no interest in point scoring at the Guild hall. I am totally independent and if elected I will always vote for the good of the community and its residents and I will not be bound by a party “whip” telling me how I should vote because in my opinion this is what let Maes Y Dre down in the past and it is time for a change and for a local person to stand up for local people regardless of political beliefs and that’s is why I am passionate about standing as your independent candidate.

What are the three key local issues in this ward and why?

Grove house which is being used as a homeless shelter for people with Alcohol and Drug issues. I have received several reports of antisocial behaviour from residents adjacent to the property. I would encourage anyone who has not contacted me all ready to do so.

Groves school has been sitting empty for many years and is a drain on the Maes Y Dre tax payers and also the educational budget to sit empty this is not acceptable. The building is listed which has hindered future use it also has a covenant to be used for education purposes.

9 acre field Planning permission is being sought to build a new school on the field which is currently being used by Wrexham football club. keeping our green open spaces is of great importance to the whole community.
There are many other issues I would like to discuss but we could only list 3.

 What would you do to resolve each of those, and what would be your desired outcome for each?

Grove house I have been informed this is a temporary measure if elected I will work tirelessly to hold the council accountable to this and ensure that it is temporary and I would seek clarification as what they class as temporary. Furthermore ensure that it is returned to residential use only.

Groves School I will work tirelessly to make sure it is put back to good use it cannot sit there for ever as a white Elephant costing the tax payer money. I would lobby the council to utilise the covenants that it is to be used for educational purposes. Coleg Cambria were reportedly interested in using the building why did this not proceed ?. I would be exploring this further as a viable option for everyone concerned.

9 Acre field Keeping our green open spaces in the whole area is very important. I am more than aware that the Nine Acre Campaign Group are objecting to the building of a school on the field. Although I have not been involved in this I can give them my word if I was elected they would have my full backing and I would fight tirelessly with them to save 9 Acre field. I would not be voting for any development on the field and furthermore actively promote the plans they have drawn up including green open spaces and a park area the plans look beautiful, this would be an amazing open space for the community to use. I applaud them for all their efforts so far and if I can be of any use please contact me.

What is your view on the local and national pandemic response, and what role will you as a councillor have in the future recovery?

There has quite obviously been issues with COVID-19 from the start the main issue being a shortage of PPE equipment locally and nationally. The deaths in care homes could have been managed better. Whilst I am pleased we have the vaccinations centre at Catrin Finch I think we need another one given the size of the borough so we can get more people vaccinated quicker. I agree with the priority groups but In my opinion I would of prioritised the emergency services first. The Welsh Government are prioritising children returning to schools which is good news but this needs to be done in a controlled manner and we need to be vaccinating the teachers. Business opening as soon as they can is vital to the local economy but again this needs to be managed properly.
It is vital in recovery response is delivered locally with investment in local projects both work related and educationally handled by W.B.C. and not remotely from Cardiff Local Council is best placed to ensure maximum benefit from any funds available.

Would you put the ward first in any vote, even if that clashed with your political group or alliances on the council?

Absolutely 100% as stated I am an independent and will always put the needs of the ward first. I am not part of a political party and therefore I am not told what to vote on which has been the down fall of Maes Y Dre for many years.

If you change political allegiance from what you are currently seeking election for (eg. resigning from, or joining another group) will you trigger a by-election? If not, why not?

I am an Independent and not part of any political party if elected I will not be joining a Party Political Party, my allegiance is to the community. If Elected there is the option of joining one of the two independent groups. I would like to stress this is not something I have considered or talked about with anyone at this point. If elected I may consider this as an option but only if it would be beneficial to the ward. If that was the best option as I understand it I would still be voting as an independent for Maes Y Dre and under no circumstances would I be be governed by any party political whip. So in that case there would be no reason to trigger a By election if I was to join either of the independent groups.

What local activity have you taken part in over the last few years or months to improve your ward? Regardless of if you win, will you continue ?

I have over the course of many years been involved in local youth football actively engaging young boys and girls from the ward and surrounding areas in football. I believe any youth sports groups helps reduce antisocial behaviour and something I would like to see an increase in funding to support local youth groups we need to invest in the children’s future. A few years ago I took a group of 22 Boys many from the ward and all aged 12 at the time to Mallorca to train with Spanish football teams and learn about their culture. The investment in youth sports group over there is phenomenal and the rates of antisocial behaviour are significantly lower ?.

I have been involved in setting up the Bradley Project which is located at Delta school of dance and performing arts located just outside the ward in Queensway but will be available to everyone. The Bradley Project was set up in his name after he sadly took his own life at 19 years of age in 2019. Bradley was a lovely lad and a personal friend who couldn’t cope with his depression and never felt able to talk about this. So his mother and I with the help of others have set up a safe haven were young people can use a recording studio to express their feelings through music. We were successful in securing funding from comic relief just before Covid struck so hopefully with that coming to an end we can have this up and running later this year for the whole community to use.
I have for many years ran funding raising events all for local charities I think over the last few years I have raised in excess of £50,000.
Regardless of whether I am elected or not I will never stop trying to help and improve the community.

To wrap this up, why should people vote for you?

I am an independent candidate who has the community at the forefront of my decision making and as stated not a party political policy. I am a passionate and driven person who has come through many challenges in my life. All my life I have worked in customer facing roles dealing with people from all walks of life and I believe my people skills alongside the negotiation skills I have developed in business puts me as a prime candidate to really listen to the communities concerns and issues and negotiate successful outcomes with the council. I see life like this if you need help and I can help you I will it really is as simple as that. It doesn’t matter who you are where you are in the borough, if it is council related or personal issues if you need help I will be there to help regardless. I am standing as your voice for our community it’s time for a change.

Contacts and Leaflets

The candidate has supplied the below election material that you should be able to click to make larger, and can also be found on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/cliveray.maesydre