78 year-old former MP chosen to fight for police chief role He said he was "delighted and honoured" to have won the nomination and added: "I will be working flat out from now on to be in contact with as many of the electorate as I possibly can with the aim of winning a good majority." Mr Mates was chosen this week ahead of Donna Jones, a 35 year-old member of Portsmouth City Council who also serves as a magistrate. At the election in November, Mr Mates will be fighting for the £80,000 a year post against Jacqui Rayment, a senior Labour councillor and member of the local police authority. If he won, he would be 82 by the end of his four-year term in office. Electing police chiefs is one of the Conservatives" flagship criminal justice proposals. Ministers believe they will make police more accountable to residents, as they will have the power to hire and fire chief constables as well as developing plans to tackle local problems. But the plan has so far failed to capture the public's imagination, and is opposed by many police officers as well as some politicians, prompting fears that low voter turnout may deny the commissioners legitimacy and could even see extremist candidates elected. It suffered another blow this week when Simon Weston, the Falklands war hero, pulled out of the race in South Wales, complaining it had become "too political" for an independent candidate.