Jason Zadrozny | |
|---|---|
| Leader of Ashfield District Council | |
| Assumed office 26 Apr 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Cheryl Butler |
| In office 3 May 2007 –7 May 2009 | |
| Succeeded by | John Knight |
| Ashfield Independents Group Leader on Ashfield District Council | |
| Assumed office 28 July 2016 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Councillor for Ashfield District Council | |
| Assumed office 22 March 2007 | |
| Ward | Larwood |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Jason Bernard Zadrozny 20 July 1980 Sutton-in-Ashfield,Nottinghamshire,England |
| Political party | Ashfield Independents (since 2016) |
| Other political affiliations | Liberal Democrats (until 2015) |
| Occupation | Politician |
Jason Bernard Zadrozny (born 20 July 1980) is a British local politician from the Ashfield Independents and Leader of Ashfield District Council.
In 2007,he first became Leader of the Council as a Liberal Democrat,becoming the youngest council leader in the United Kingdom at that time,aged 26. Labour took back control at elections in 2009,but in 2018 Zadrozny regained the position as an Ashfield Independent.
Zadrozny was born in Sutton-in-Ashfield,Nottinghamshire and is of Polish descent. He grew up in Kirkby-in-Ashfield attending Greenwood Primary School,Ashfield Comprehensive School,and West Nottinghamshire College,where he completed a BTeC National Diploma in Performance Art. He then obtained a Higher National Diploma in Theatre Studies from the college in 2002.[ citation needed ]
In March 2007,standing as a Liberal Democrat,Zadrozny won a by-election to Nottinghamshire County Council in the Sutton-in-Ashfield North division,with a 44 percent swing to his party and a 60 percent increase in the vote share. [1] Two months later,also in Sutton-in-Ashfield North,he won a seat on Ashfield District Council,and the Liberal Democrats became the largest party.[ citation needed ]
Zadrozny was then Leader of Ashfield District Council from May 2007 until May 2009. In that role,he promoted Community Asset Transfers of two local buildings,the Acacia Centre in Annesley and the Manor Rooms in Teversal. [2] His administration launched proposals for a Neighbourhood Charter of environmental pledges and the creation of new community protection services. It opened a new Lammas leisure centre in Sutton-in-Ashfield. [3]
In May 2009,Labour took back control of Ashfield District Council and regained the leadership. In June 2009,Zadrozny held his County Council seat in the 2009 Nottinghamshire County Council election.[ citation needed ]
In the 2010 general election,Zadrozny stood as a Liberal Democrat for the parliamentary seat of Ashfield,losing to Labour's Gloria de Piero by 192 out of 48,196 votes cast,one of the closest results in the country,after the second biggest swing of the General Election. [4]
He was re-elected to Ashfield District in 2011 and to the County Council again at its 2013 election.[ citation needed ]
In 2015,after his suspension as a member of the Liberal Democrats,Zadrozny left the party and was elected as an Independent for a newly created district council ward,Larwood. In November that year he formed the Ashfield Independents.[ citation needed ]
In the 2016 England and Wales police and crime commissioner elections,Zadrozny stood for the elected position of Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner. He announced his candidacy to highlight his belief that he was victim of a politically motivated attack,relating to his arrest and questioning over child sex allegations,charges which were subsequently dropped. Zadrozny received 7,164 votes,which was only 4.2 percent of the total,so he lost his deposit. [5]
In May 2017,Zadrozny was elected to Nottinghamshire County Council for the new Ashfields division as an Ashfield Independent. [6] In that election,Ashfield Independents candidates stood in five county divisions,and won all five. In October 2017,there was a council by-election in Hucknall North,where his party gained the seat [7] after the Conservative incumbent,Ben Bradley,was elected as member of parliament for Mansfield at the general election in June and resigned his council seat.[ citation needed ] In the Sutton Junction and Harlow Wood by-election of December 2018,his party won again,with 82 percent of the votes. [8]
In 2018,eight councillors defected from the incumbent Labour administration to Ashfield Independents,and Zadrozny was again elected as Leader of Ashfield District Council. His policies include the building a new leisure centre with swimming pools for Kirkby-in-Ashfield; [9] restoration of the town clock; [10] and community spring clean events. [11]
In May 2019,Zadrozny‘s position at Ashfield District Council was secured when his new political party won all but five seats on the council. [12]
In the 2019 general election,Zadrozny stood for Parliament in the Ashfield constituency again;this time for the Ashfield Independents. [13] He came second,with 27.6 percent of the vote. [14]
Zadrozny has stated that he voted for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union in the 2016 membership referendum,and later advocated leaving the EU as soon as possible. [15]
In the 2024 general election,Zadrozny stood for Parliament in Ashfield for a third time. He came third,with 15.7 percent of the vote. Lee Anderson retained the seat for Reform UK,and Labour candidate Rhea Keehn came second. [16]
In the 2025 County Council elections,Zadrozny lost his Ashfields division seat to Reform candidate Alan Bite. [17]
Zadrozny is a member of the Local Government Association’s Fire Commission,and its Resources Board. [18]
In 2017 Zadrozny appeared before Nottingham Crown Court charged with child sex allegations. The Crown Prosecution Service offered no evidence,and the charges were dismissed. [19] [20]
In 2022,Zadrozny got married to his long-term partner. [21]
In 2023,Zadrozny was charged with 12 counts of fraud by false representation,four counts of income tax evasion,and one of possessing cocaine. He pleaded not guilty to all charges,and awaits trial before a Crown Court. At a court hearing in October 2023,the judge agreed with the defence's request to move the trial away from Nottinghamshire. [22] [23] His trial was transferred to Northampton,and was due to start on 24 February 2025. [24]
However,by 10 February 2025,Zadrozny's trial had been deferred,because Northampton Crown Court was over-booked for his trial date. It was rescheduled to begin on 24 August 2026:a delay of 18 months. Zadrozny appealed against the deferral,citing "the weight" of awaiting trial for four years. [25] He offered that he and his defence team were "happy to go within reason to any court in the Midlands region". [26]