The two candidates for the council by-elections being held in September have been announced.
The party has selected a self-employed gardener and a homelessness campaigner to stand in the two council wards where there are currently vacancies.
This follows the election of Cllrs Kate Campbell and Simita Kumar to The Scottish Parliament. Cllr Kumar has become a government minister and while both could retain their council positions until the elections in May, they have decided to step down and concentrate on Holyrood.
A spokesperson for the party said: “Isabella Gastel Alejandre, a Mathematics graduate from Edinburgh University, lives in the Southside where she currently works as a self-employed gardener. She runs several voluntary projects, including a permaculture community garden, a clothes repair workshops for students, and a climate discussion forum for young people.”
Southside/Newington Green Councillor Steve Burgess who has represented the ward since 2007, said: “Isabella really impressed me door-knocking during our successful Holyrood election campaign. I am so looking forward to campaigning alongside her again, and confident that we can win. She will be a brilliant addition to our hard-working team of Green councillors, representing residents here and holding the failing Labour council administration to account. Labour has only hung on to power in Edinburgh with supported from Tory and LibDem councillors – it’s time to demand better.”
And the other candidate is described as: “Lorenzo Martinico lives in Portobello. He is active in the housing co-operative movement and campaigns on issues including homelessness, tenants rights and food poverty. He works in co-operative development and as a member of a cargo bike delivery co-op, and was previously a postdoctoral researcher at Edinburgh University, specialising in computer security and digital privacy.”
Portobello/Craigmillar councillor, Alys Mumford said: “Lorenzo brings fantastic knowledge of community action across Portobello, and a deep commitment to making lives better in the ongoing cost of living crisis. Edinburgh is in the midst of a housing emergency, and this is felt keenly across the ward, especially in areas like Craigmillar and Niddrie which have suffered from being ignored for too long. Lorenzo’s background in supporting tenants will be a huge boost for this area and I can’t wait to have him on board as a collegue in the Council to help advocate for the people of Portobello/Craigmillar.”
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