Kent Mesplay (born July 19, 1962) is the California delegate to the Green National Committee and unsuccessfully sought the 2004 Green Party Presidential nomination which he lost again in 2008.

Personal[link]

Mesplay was born and raised in Papua New Guinea to Lutheran Missionary parents. He graduated Valedictorian from Mira Mesa High School in 1980. In college, he studied Western and non-Western medicine, earning a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Northwestern University and he obtained an undergrad degree in Engineering from Harvey Mudd College, Claremont, California. After graduate school, Mesplay suffered through a long period of unemployment as he worked to develop a funded position for himself at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, in Long Beach, California, before moving to La Mesa and teaching mathematics in the Grossmont Union High School District. He currently works as an Air Quality Inspector at the Air Pollution Control District, in San Diego.^[1]

Early politics[link]

Mesplay became a Green Party of California delegate to the Green National Committee in 2004 [1]. Previously, he was elected Treasurer of the Green Party County Council, San Diego, which he served as from 1996-1997. During the same period, he was the co-chair of the Communications Committee, Green Party County Council, San Diego.

Presidential election 2004[link]

Mesplay sought the Green Party presidential nomination in 2004. Prior to the 2004 Green convention Mesplay was sixth in the "Soft" Delegate Count with 10 (1.3%) committed delegates.^[2] Mesplay finished seventh in Round 1 of the Presidential Nomination Voting with 24 (3.1%) delegates. After a number of candidates withdrew or were eliminated Mesplay entered the second and final round, Mesplay finished third with 43 (5.6%) delegate votes. David Cobb received the nomination with 408 (53%) delegate votes beating out no nominee 308 (40%) (and endorsing Ralph Nader).

Round two of presidential nomination voting[link]

770 delegates voting; majority = 386 votes ^[3]

• David Cobb - 408 (53.0%)
• No Nominee - 308 (40.0%)
• Kent Mesplay - 43 (5.6%)
• JoAnne Bier-Beemon - 8 (1.0%)
• Abstain - 3 (0.4%)

California Senate election 2006[link]

In 2006 Mesplay attempted, unsuccessfully, to receive the nomination of the Green Party of California for the U.S. Senate election in California. He lost in the primaries to Todd Chretien. Chretien finished third in a field of six, behind incumbent Democrat Dianne Feinstein (overall winner) and Republican candidate Dick Mountjoy.

Presidential election 2008[link]

Wikinews has related news: Wikinews interviews Kent Mesplay, Green Party presidential candidate

Mesplay announced he was seeking the Green Party nomination again in 2008.

Socially, Mesplay supports abortion rights and same-sex marriage and holds other views typical of the Green Party Platform.

Mesplay came in fourth at the convention, the nominee being Cynthia McKinney.^[4]

Presidential election 2012[link]

Mesplay announced during an interview with Wikinews on June 29, 2008, that he was in the planning stages for a 2012 presidential campaign.^[5] On May 24, 2011, he filed with the FEC as an official candidate for Green Party presidential nomination.^[6]

References[link]

1. ^ http://www.politics1.com/greens04a.htm
2. ^ http://www.thegreenpapers.com/T04/Gr-Soft.phtml
3. ^ http://www.thegreenpapers.com/T04/Gr-Nom.phtml
4. ^ http://gp.org/2008-elections/2008-Presidential-Ballots_1.htm
5. ^ "Wikinews interviews Kent Mesplay, Green Party presidential candidate". Wikinews. June 29, 2008. http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Wikinews_interviews_Kent_Mesplay,_Green_Party_presidential_candidate. Retrieved 5 June 2011. 
6. ^ "Mesplay, Kent P.". FEC. http://images.nictusa.com/cgi-bin/fecimg/?P40003279. Retrieved 5 June 2011. 

External links[link]

• Kent Mesplay Official Site
• Candidate profile at Project Vote Smart
• Interview with Lifted Magazine regarding '08 run
• Article in San Diego CityBEAT regarding '08 run
• Presidential campaign FEC disclosure report

Kent
Invicta Flag of Kent Invicta
Motto of County Council: ''Invicta''
Geography
Status	Ceremonial and (smaller) non-metropolitan county
Region	South East England
Area - Total - Admin. council - Admin. area	Ranked 10th 3,736 km2 (1,442 sq mi) Ranked 10th 3,544 km2 (1,368 sq mi)
Admin HQ	Maidstone
ISO 3166-2	GB-KEN
ONS code	29
NUTS 3	UKJ42
Demography
Population - Total (2010 est.) - Density - Admin. council - Admin. pop.	Ranked 7th 1,684,200 451 /km2 (1,170 /sq mi) Ranked 1st 1,427,500
Ethnicity	96.9% White 1.9% Asian
Politics
"CANTIA" Kent County Council http://www.kent.gov.uk/ Medway Council http://www.medway.gov.uk/
Executive	Conservative
Members of Parliament	Julian Brazier (C) Rehman Chishti (C) Greg Clark (C) Damian Collins (C) Tracey Crouch (C) Charlie Elphicke (C) Michael Fallon (C) Roger Gale (C) Helen Grant (C) Damian Green (C) Gordon Henderson (C) Adam Holloway (C) Gareth Johnson (C) Mark Reckless (C) Hugh Robertson (C) Laura Sandys (C) John Stanley (C)
Districts
Sevenoaks Dartford Gravesham Tonbridge and Malling Medway (Unitary) Maidstone Tunbridge Wells Swale Ashford Canterbury Shepway Thanet Dover

Kent /ˈkɛnt/ is a county in South East England, and one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of Medway. Kent has a nominal border with France halfway through the Channel Tunnel. Maidstone is its county town and historically Rochester and Canterbury have been accorded city status, though only the latter still holds it.

Kent's location between London and the continental Europe has led to its being in the front line of several conflicts, including the Battle of Britain during World War II. East Kent was known as Hell Fire Corner during the conflict. England has relied on the county's ports to provide warships through much of the past 800 years; the Cinque Ports in the 12th–14th centuries and Chatham Dockyard in the 16th–20th centuries were of particular importance to the country's security. France can be seen clearly in fine weather from Folkestone, and the iconic White Cliffs of Dover.

Because of its abundance of orchards and hop gardens, Kent is known as "The Garden of England" – a name often applied when marketing the county or its produce, although other regions have tried to lay claim to the title.^[1][2] Major industries in the north-west of Kent have included cement, papermaking, and aircraft construction, but these are now in decline. Large parts of Kent are within the London commuter belt. South and East Kent rely on tourism and agriculture. Coal mining has also played its part in Kent's industrial heritage.

History[link]

The area has been occupied since the Palaeolithic era, as attested by finds from the quarries at Swanscombe. The Medway megaliths were built during the Neolithic era. There is a rich sequence of Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Roman era occupation, as indicated by finds and features such as the Ringlemere gold cup and the Roman villas of the Darent valley.^[3]

The modern name of Kent is derived from the Brythonic word Cantus meaning "rim" or "border". This describes the eastern part of the current county area as a border land or coastal district. Julius Caesar had described the area as Cantium, or home of the Cantiaci in 51 BC.^[4]

The extreme west of the modern county was occupied by Iron Age tribes, known as the Regnenses. It is possible that another ethnic group occupied what is now called The Weald and East Kent. East Kent became a kingdom of the Jutes during the 5th century^[5] and was known as Cantia from about 730 and as Cent in 835. The early medieval inhabitants of the county were known as the Cantwara, or Kent people. These people regarded the city of Canterbury as their capital.^[6]

In 597, Pope Gregory I appointed Augustine as the first Archbishop of Canterbury. In the previous year, Augustine successfully converted the pagan King Æthelberht of Kent to Christianity. The Diocese of Canterbury became Britain's first Episcopal See and has since remained Britain's centre of Christianity.^[7]

In the 11th century, the people of Kent adopted the motto Invicta, meaning "undefeated". This naming followed the invasion of Britain by William of Normandy. The Kent people's continued resistance against the Normans led to Kent's designation as a semi-autonomous County Palatine in 1067. Under the nominal rule of William's half-brother Odo of Bayeux, the county was granted similar powers to those granted in the areas bordering Wales and Scotland.^[8]

During the medieval and early modern period, Kent played a major role in several of England's most notable rebellions, including the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, led by Wat Tyler,^[9] Jack Cade's Kent rebellion of 1450, and Wyatt's Rebellion of 1554 against Queen Mary I.^[10]

Titlepage of William Lambard's Perambulation of Kent, being a history of the county of Kent since William the Conqueror.

The Royal Navy first used the River Medway in 1547. By the reign of Elizabeth I (1558–1603) a small dockyard had been established at Chatham. By 1618, storehouses, a ropewalk, a drydock, and houses for officials had been built downstream from Chatham.^[11]

By the 17th century, tensions between Britain and the powers of the Netherlands and France led to increasing military build-up in the county. Forts were built all along the coast following the raid on the Medway, a successful attack by the Dutch navy on the shipyards of the Medway towns in 1667.^[12]

The 18th century was dominated by wars with France, during which the Medway became the primary base for a fleet that could act along the Dutch and French coasts. When the theatre of operation moved to the Atlantic, this role was assumed by Portsmouth and Plymouth, with Chatham concentrating on shipbuilding and ship repair. As an indication of the area's military importance, the first Ordnance Survey map ever drawn was a one-inch map of Kent, published in 1801.^[13] Many of the Georgian naval buildings still stand.

In the early 19th century, smugglers were very active on the Kent coastline. Gangs such as The Aldington Gang brought spirits, tobacco and salt to the county, and transported goods such as wool across the sea to France.^[14]

In 1889, the County of London was created and the townships of Deptford, Greenwich, Woolwich, Lee, Eltham, Charlton, Kidbrooke and Lewisham were transferred out of Kent and in 1900 the area of Penge was gained. Some of Kent, notably Dartford, is contiguous with Greater London.

During World War II, much of the Battle of Britain was fought in the skies over the county. Between June 1944 and March 1945, over 10,000 V1 flying bombs or "Doodlebugs", were fired toward London from bases in Northern France. Although many were destroyed by aircraft, anti-aircraft guns, and barrage balloons, both London and Kent were hit by around 2,500 of these bombs.

After the war, Kent's borders changed several more times. In 1965 the London boroughs of Bromley and Bexley were created from nine towns formerly in Kent.^[15][16] In 1998, Rochester, Chatham, Gillingham, and Rainham left the administrative county of Kent to form the Unitary Authority of Medway. During this reorganisation, through an "apparent" administrative oversight, the city of Rochester lost its official city status.^[17]

Climate[link]

Kent is one of the warmest parts of Britain. On 10 August 2003, in the hamlet of Brogdale near Faversham the temperature reached 38.5 °C (101.3 °F), the hottest temperature ever recorded in the United Kingdom.^[18]

Here is a climate chart for Wye near Ashford.

Physical geography[link]

'The White Cliffs of Dover'

Kent is in the southeastern corner of England. It borders the River Thames and the North Sea to the north, and the Straits of Dover and the English Channel to the south. France is 34 kilometres (21 mi) across the Strait.^[19]

The major geographical features of the county are determined by a series of ridges and valleys running east-west across the county. These are the results of erosion of the Wealden dome, a dome across Kent and Sussex created by Alpine movements 10–20 million years ago. This dome consists of an upper layer of Chalk above successive layers of Upper Greensand, Gault Clay, Lower Greensand, Weald Clay, and Wealden sandstone. The ridges and valleys formed when the exposed clay eroded faster than the exposed chalk, greensand, or sandstone.

Geological map of southeast England, showing a concentric circular pattern formed by the weathering of the Wealden dome.

Sevenoaks, Maidstone, Ashford, and Folkestone are built on greensand,^[20] while Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells are built on sandstone.^[21] Dartford, Gravesend, the Medway towns, Sittingbourne, Faversham, Canterbury, Deal, and Dover are built on chalk.^[20][21] The easterly section of the Wealden dome has been eroded away by the sea, and cliffs such as the white cliffs of Dover are present where a chalk ridge known as the North Downs meets the coast. Spanning Dover and Westerham is the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.^[22]

The Wealden dome is a Mesozoic structure lying on a Palaeozoic foundation, which can often create the right conditions for coal formation. This is found in East Kent roughly between Deal, Canterbury, and Dover. The Coal Measures within the Westphalian Sandstone are deep about 250 m – 400 m (800 – 1300 ft) and subject to flooding. They occur in two major troughs, which extend under the English Channel where similar coalfields are located.^[23]

Seismic activity has occasionally been recorded in Kent, though the epicentres were offshore. In 1382 and 1580 there were two earthquakes exceeding 6.0 on the Richter Scale. In 1776, 1950, and on 28 April 2007 there were earthquakes of around 4.3. The 2007 earthquake caused physical damage in Folkestone.^[24]

Geological cross section of Kent, showing how it relates to major towns

The coastline of Kent is continuously changing, due to tectonic uplift and coastal erosion. Until about 960, the Isle of Thanet was an island, separated by the Wantsum channel, formed around a deposit of chalk; over time, the channels silted up with alluvium. Similarly Romney Marsh and Dungeness have been formed by accumulation of alluvium.^[21]

Kent's principal river, the River Medway, rises near East Grinstead in Sussex and flows eastwards to Maidstone. Here it turns north and breaks through the North Downs at Rochester, then joins the estuary of the River Thames as its final tributary near Sheerness. The Medway is some 112 kilometres (70 mi) long.^[25][26] The river is tidal as far as Allington lock, but in earlier times, cargo-carrying vessels reached as far upstream as Tonbridge.^[25] The Medway has captured the head waters of other rivers such as the River Darent. Other rivers of Kent include the River Stour in the east.

Demographics[link]

As of the 2001 UK census,^[27] Kent, including Medway, had 1,579,206 residents and 646,308 households, of which 1,329,718 residents and 546,742 households were within the administrative boundaries. Of those households, 48.9% were married couples living together, 9.0% were co-habiting couples and 8.7% were lone parents; 28.0% of households consisted of individuals, 14.6% had someone of pensionable age living alone, and 30.4% included children aged under 16 or a person aged 16 to 18 who was in full-time education. For every 100 females, there were 93.9 males.

The ethnicity of Kent was 96.5% White, 0.9% mixed race, 0.3% Chinese, 1.7% other Asian and 0.4% Black. The place of birth for residents was 94.2% United Kingdom, 0.7% Republic of Ireland, 0.5% Germany, 0.9% other Western Europe countries, 0.3% Eastern Europe, 0.8% Africa, 0.6% Far East, 0.9% South Asia, 0.2% Middle East, 0.4% North America, 0.1% South America and 0.3% Oceania. Religion was recorded as 74.6% Christian, 0.7% Sikh, 0.6% Muslim, 0.4% Hindu, 0.2% Buddhist and 0.1% Jewish, while 15.2% were recorded as having no religion, 0.3% had an alternative religion, and 7.8% did not state their religion.

Government[link]

Kent County Council (KCC) and its 12 district councils administer most of the county (3352 km²), while the Medway Towns Council, a unitary authority and commonly called Medway Council, administers the more densely populated remainder (192 km²).^[28] Together they have around 300 town and parish councils. Kent County Council's headquarters are in Maidstone,^[29] while Medway's offices are at Gun Wharf, Chatham.

As of the 2009 county council elections, Kent County Council was controlled by the Conservatives, which won 74 of the Council's 84 seats, 7 were won by the Liberal Democrats, 2 by the Labour Party and 1 by the Swanscombe and Greenhithe Residents Association. As of the 2007 local elections, Medway Council was controlled by the Conservatives; 33 of the Council's 55 seats were held by the Conservatives, 13 by the Labour Party, 8 by the Liberal Democrats and 1 by an Independent.^[30] Currently, all of Kent's district councils are controlled by the Conservatives; the only British county that is in this position.

At the national level, Kent is represented in Parliament by 17 MPs, all of whom are Conservative. Kent is in the European Parliament constituency of South East England, which elects ten members of the European Parliament.^[31]

Economy[link]

Converted oast at Frittenden.

As of the 2001 UK census,^[27] employment statistics for the residents in Kent, including Medway, were as follows: 41.1% in full-time employment, 12.4% in part-time employment, 9.1% self-employed, 2.9% unemployed, 2.3% students with jobs, 3.7% students without jobs, 12.3% retired, 7.3% looking after home or family, 4.3% permanently sick or disabled, and 2.7% economically inactive for other reasons. Of residents aged 16–74, 16% had a higher education qualification or the equivalent, compared to 20% nationwide.^[27]

The average hours worked per week by residents of Kent were 43.1 for males and 30.9 for females. Their industry of employment was 17.3% retail, 12.4% manufacturing, 11.8% real estate, 10.3% health and social work, 8.9% construction, 8.2% transport and communications, 7.9% education, 6.0% public administration and defence, 5.6% finance, 4.8% other community and personal service activities, 4.1% hotels and restaurants, 1.6% agriculture, 0.8% energy and water supply, 0.2% mining, and 0.1% private households. This is higher than the whole of England for construction and transport/communications, and lower for manufacturing.

Kent is sometimes known as the "Garden of England" for its abundance of orchards and hop gardens. Distinctive hop-drying buildings called oasts are common in the countryside, although many have been converted into dwellings. Nearer to London, market gardens also flourish.

However, in recent years, there has been a significant drop in agriculture, and industry and services are increasing their utilisation of the area. This is illustrated by the following table of economic indicator gross value added (GVA) between 1995 and 2000 (figures are in millions of British Pounds Sterling).^[32]

North Kent is heavily industrialised with cement-making at Northfleet and Cuxton, brickmaking at Sittingbourne, shipbuilding on the Medway and Swale, engineering and aircraft design and construction at Rochester, chemicals at Dartford and papermaking at Swanley, and oil refining at Grain.^[15] A steel mini mill in Sheerness and a rolling mill in Queenborough.There are two nuclear power stations at Dungeness, although the older one, built in 1965, was closed at the end of 2006.^[33]

Cement-making, papermaking, and coal-mining were important industries in Kent during the 19th and 20th century. Cement came to the fore in the 19th century when massive building projects were undertaken. The ready supply of chalk and huge pits between Stone and Gravesend bear testament to that industry. There were also other workings around Burham on the tidal Medway.^[34]

Kent's original paper mills stood on streams like the River Darent, tributaries of the River Medway, and on the River Stour. Two 18th century mills were on the River Len and at Tovil on the River Loose. In the late 19th century huge modern mills were built at Dartford and Northfleet on the River Thames and at Kemsley on The Swale. In pre-industrial times, almost every village and town had its own windmill or watermill, with over 400 windmills known to have stood at some time. Twenty eight survive within the county today, plus two replica mills and a further two in that part of Kent now absorbed into London. All the major rivers in the county were used to power watermills.

From about 1900, several coal pits operated in East Kent. The Kent Coalfield was mined during the 20th century at several collieries,^[35] including Chislet, Tilmanstone, Betteshanger, and the Snowdown Colliery, which ran from 1908 to 1986.^[36]

The west of the county (including Maidstone, Tunbridge Wells & Sevenoaks) is generally more affluent than the east, especially when compared to the coastal regions of Folkestone, Dover & Thanet. This is partly due to the former's proximity to London, making it prime "commuter belt" and the latter's geographic extremities. The eagerly awaited CTRL 2009 rail service, using the high speed Channel Tunnel line to bring coastal areas' travel times to London down to around an hour, is hoped to further regeneration.

Arts[link]

Kent has provided inspiration for several notable writers and artists. Canterbury's religious role gave rise to Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, a key development in the English language. The father of novelist Charles Dickens worked at the Chatham Dockyard; in many of his books, the celebrated novelist featured the scenery of Chatham, Rochester, and the Cliffe marshes.^[37] The landscape painter J. M. W. Turner spent part of his childhood in the town of Margate in East Kent, and regularly returned to visit it throughout his life. The East Kent coast inspired many of his works, including some of his most famous seascapes.^[38] During the late 1930s, Nobel Prize-awarded novelist William Golding worked as a teacher at Maidstone Grammar School, where he met his future wife Ann Brookfield.^[39]

The county's largest theatre is The Marlowe Theatre, situated in the centre of Canterbury. It re-opened, after being completely rebuilt, in October 2011.^[40]

Transport[link]