Mother and son run for council in neighbouring wards

A mother and son are standing side-by-side in the local elections, running in neighbouring wards.
Janet and Dominic Ridler standing on either side of the ward boundaryJanet and Dominic Ridler standing on either side of the ward boundary
Janet and Dominic Ridler standing on either side of the ward boundary

Janet and Dominic Ridler, both based in Dore, coincidentally decided to run in bordering wards for the local elections, taking place tomorrow.

Ms Ridler, trustee of Sheffield General Cemetery, is standing in Broomhill and Sharrow Vale while her son, Mr Ridler, a teacher at Wales High School, is standing in Fulwood.

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“It was a complete coincidence and we were both enthused about it. We decided independently and both have different motivations for doing so,” Ms Ridler said.

She added they were encouraged to run last year when there was a push from Labour to get more people involved in the elections.

Ms Ridler said, when he was growing up, Dominic reached his own political views while studying human geography and that she was proud when she realised they both shared a passion for politics.

It is the first time either of them have run in the elections and when they were selected they enjoyed a joint celebration before campaign planning started.

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Like all fellow party candidates, the Ridlers have been supporting each other in the run up to election day.

Ms Ridler said: "We've generally helped and supported each other. I've done some leafleting for Dominic and he's gone around with a group door knocking."

She added: “It’s been going great. It's generally been really busy, especially this week as things have hotted up.

“We have been out in all weathers – snow, wind and rain – but hopefully the sun will shine on us tomorrow.”

The full list of candidates running in these wards are:

Broomhill and Sharrow Vale

Janet Ridler, Labour

Barbara Masters, Liberal Democrats

Kaltum Rivers, Green Party

Laurence Smith, Conservative

Fulwood

Dominic Ridler, Labour

Judy Burkinshaw, Conservative

Judith Rutnam, Green Party

Cliff Woodcraft, Liberal Democrats

Voting takes place tomorrow, Thursday May 3.