Labour candidate Maureen McLaughlin, who was previously a music and drama teacher, has also spent a number of years involved in local politics after first being elected to the council in 2011.
“I spent some time in America and I noticed when my kids were small how good the playgrounds were and I thought that’s something I’d like to get involved in,” she said.
But it was years later she decided to stand.
“At the time I’d been diagnosed with MS and I’d had a relapse and I was just recovering from that,” she said.
“I knew I didn’t want to go back to teaching, but also I felt a real need to be a woman in the council and someone who could represent people with disabilities too.”
Music remains one of Ms McLaughlin’s hobbies.
“I like going to concerts, all sorts of music but particularly classical music… and I’ve recently become more interested in wildlife and nature, and the garden,” she said.
