Green Councillors

Three Green councillors were elected in the Swale Borough Council (SBC) elections in May 2023. Rich Lehmann & Alastair Gould were both elected in Boughton & Courtenay and Terry Thompson was elected in East Downs.

Green party councillors are already making positive change in Swale - since their election the council has declared a Climate & Ecological Emergency and is now working towards being Carbon Neutral by 2025.

In May 2021 Rich Lehmann was elected in Swale East and joins three other Green councillors on Kent County Council (KCC). 

You can find out more about how our Green councillors have been making a difference in Swale here and you can find the monthly Councillors' Report on our News Page.

If you would like to get involved in the next election we contest, please get in touch. We need lots of volunteers to get our message out to local residents!

Councillor Rich Lehmann - KCC Swale East & SBC Boughton & Courtenay

Rich has long been a campaigner on local issues and a member of various community projects over the years. He has run his own business as a wedding photographer for 16 years, but the Covid lockdowns in 2020 brought a change in direction for him. Unable to work, he helped coordinate mutual aid volunteers across Faversham to support vulnerable residents. Inspired by his work for the community, Rich put himself forward for election for a place on Kent County Council representing Swale East. He was elected in May 2021. At the first budget meeting in February 2022, he put forward a successful amendment to freeze the cost of a Travel Saver Pass for families with children in receipt of free school meals, and is leading the campaign to save rural bus services across Swale from KCC cuts. 

You can find his full profile on the Kent County Council website and Swale Borough Council website

Contact: rich.lehmann@kent.gov.uk 

 Councillor Alastair Gould - SBC Boughton & Courtenay

 

Alastair Gould has been a GP in the area for the past 32 years and lives in Boughton-under-Blean where all his children have been to the local school. He knows the problems the community faces, but also that health and well-being need much more than medicine alone. This led him to run for Swale Borough Council in 2019. Since being elected he has been pushing hard for policies that enable people to be more active, and reduce the need to always rely on cars. He cycles to work in Faversham most days, and so knows first-hand the barriers that need to be overcome to make this an easy choice.

You can find Alastair's full profile on the Swale Borough Council website

Contact: AlastairGould@swale.gov.uk 

Councillor Terry Thompson - SBC East Downs

Terry grew up on a small holding in Stalisfield and trained as an agricultural engineer. He has a keen interest in sustainable engineering and considerable experience managing environmental projects, including Starr Place - the first first ultra-energy-efficient office complex in Canterbury. In 2010, he co-founded The Abbot's Mill Project, an education centre which will be powered by re-instating a water wheel into an old mill race. Terry is passionate about improving rural public transport, and supporting small businesses that provide rural employment. 

East Downs includes Badlesmere, Doddington, Eastling, Leaveland, Newnham, Ospringe, Painter’s Forstal, Stalisfield & Throwley

You can find Terry's full profile on the Swale Borough Council website

Sign up for regular updates from our local councillors HERE 

Contact: TerryThompson@swale.gov.uk 

 

Promoted by T. Valentine on behalf of Swale Green Party, PO Box 78066, London, SE16 9GQ

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