AN Assistant Chief Minister will stand for re-election in June, in the newly formed district of St Mary, St Ouen and St Peter.
Deputy Rowland Huelin, who is a founding member of Jersey Alliance, said he had ‘successfully represented the residents affected by PFOS’ and ‘gained recognition’ from the government of the need to test for potential health effects. PFOS – a chemical once used in firefighting foam at the Airport – is known to have contaminated boreholes in St Ouen’s Bay.
First elected to the States in 2018, Deputy Huelin said he stated at the time that ‘in order to give of your best you should enter with the intent of serving two terms’.
The past four years had been a ‘steep learning curve and a rewarding experience’, he said.
Deputy Huelin said: ‘Whilst the learning never stops, I feel I am now better positioned to use that experience to achieve even more for the people of St Ouen, St Peter and St Mary, and the whole island in general. Whether that is to aim to continue with the same projects, being population and migration, or to take on a fresh field, is far from being decided (by me, or more importantly the electorate). Regardless, I will seek re-election with the determined ambition to put my heart and soul into trying to make Jersey a better place for all whom I will serve.’
The minister, who was responsible for the government’s population and migration policy, said he had championed the role of digital technology to improve productivity and reduce reliance on inward migration.
Deputy Huelin became Assistant Chief Minister in September 2020, and was previously a member of the Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel, Public Accounts Committee and Planning Committee.
He joins JLC candidate David Benn, and independents Senators Lyndon Farnham, Ian Gorst, Kristina Moore and Helen Evans in the four-seat district. The JEP’s assistant editor, Lucy Stephenson, is also running as an independent candidate there. She and Senator Moore are members of political coalition Better Way.
