Green councillor makes a pitch for Glasgow seat at Holyrood
Seonad Hoy, Green councillor for Hillhead, is challenging for a top slot on the party's list for the Glasgow Region.
The Greens have had one MSP elected for Glasgow since 2003, when Patrick Harvie was first returned.
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The Party has been hopeful of getting two at the elections since but has narrowly lost out and is targeting more than one in next year's Scottish Parliament election.
Nominations for the list have now opened and the 40 year-old Mum of two is declaring her intention and wants to be the first Green female MSP for Glasgow.
Hoy was elected to the council in a by-election in March last year, leaving her job with social landlord Wheatley Goup.
She said: 'I've been enjoying the work on the council. I feel I have something different to offer.
'I have real-world experience from working in the social housing sector.
She said she has a 'deep understanding ' of the issue relevant because 'we have a housing emergency in Glasgow'
The councillor added: 'I feel well placed at a national level to ensure housing gets the investment it requires.
'There's such a big demand for social housing with people trapped in temporary accommodation, including thousands of children. It's not good enough.'
She also said she would be a 'local champion' for local authority funding looking to reform taxation for a fairer system.
Hoy said: 'The current council tax is regressive. People who can't afford it paying more than they should be.'
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First of all, candidates for the Greens are selected for the regional list and then from that ,the constituency candidates are chosen to contest the first past the post seats, of which there are eight in Glasgow.
Hoy said: 'I would like to feature on the regional list for Glasgow. I hope we will elect more than one MSP in Glasgow.'
To have the best chance of Holyrood she would need the top spot, occupied by Patrick Harvie for the last 20 years.
She said: 'Patrick has been inspirational,' but added, 'There's strong competition among the Green politicians in the city.'
The single mum with two young kids has identified areas of concern that need priority.
She added: 'We have a high rate of child poverty. We need a strong focus on children. Our children are going to be picking up the pieces.'
She said she joined the party just after the independence referendum, adding: 'I've always been political and passionate about independence, I've always been concerned about climate change.'
While her aim is top of the list she added: 'Regardless of whether I'm on the list, we will be working to elect as many Greens as possible. We should be electing at least two in Glasgow.'
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