The Greater Headington branch of Oxford Labour has chosen Simon Ottino, a teacher who lives locally in Margaret Road, to contest the forthcoming Oxford City Council Headington ward by-election, which is expected to take place on Thursday 19th July.
At a meeting this week, he was unanimously adopted by local Labour members and campaigning will begin straight away.
Simon Ottino contested the seat just five weeks ago in the May City wide council elections, increasing Labour’s support by 15% from the previous election in 2016.
Simon, who has lived in Oxford for over 30 years, has two teenage children who attended St Andrew’s and Cheney Schools in Headington. He teaches at a primary school in Cowley where he has worked for the last 22 years.
Simon says, “I live in Headington and use the local facilities every day. It’s about time Headington had a Labour voice on the Council, and a chance for local residents to have their say on the important issues such as the pressures on our environment, the lack of affordable housing and the rise in homelessness.
With the next stage of ‘Access to Headington’ transport scheme upon us, I share the concerns of fellow residents about the impact it will have on the qualiity of life in our community over the next few months. I will make sure that residents’ views are listened to by contractors and the County council. The private contractors employed by the County Council need to be held accountable.”
Former Oxford East MP Andrew Smith said: “I have seen at first hand how hard Simon works, calling round to listen to the views of Headington residents. He cares about the community, understands the issues in Headington from personal experience and is dedicated to getting the best for all local people. It would be great to have Simon as a strong voice for Headington in the Labour Group -; and the only way to achieve that is to vote for him.”