Ards and North Down Borough has installed a new Lord Mayor and deputy at its annual general meeting.
During the meeting at Bangor Town Hall on Wednesday (June 7), DUP Councillor Jennifer Gilmour and Alliance Councillor Hannah Irwin were elected to the roles of Mayor and Deputy Mayor respectively for the incoming term of office.
Councillor Gilmour, who represents the Bangor West District Electoral Area, replaced Alliance Councillor Karen Douglas as Mayor, while Councillor Irwin, who was originally co-opted last year, then was elected for Bangor East and Donaghadee last month, replaced UUP Councillor Craig Blaney as Deputy Mayor.
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Jennifer Gilmour first became a councillor for the old North Down council in 2011, and was to become the youngest ever Deputy Mayor for the legacy council, before it amalgamated with Ards Council. She said: “It is a great honour to become the Mayor of Ards and North Down and I look forward to meeting many of the groups and individuals across the entire Council area who make this such a great place.
“Having grown up on a farm I am not afraid to get my hands dirty and get stuck into hard work and I look forward to the challenges ahead during my term. This appointment today makes me the youngest female Mayor of Ards and North Down, something that I am very proud of.
“As a mother to three young girls, I understand the challenges of busy family life faced by many homes and residents across the Borough. I would like to thank my girls for all their love and support, they inspire me to be the best I can be. With this in mind I wish to make families a theme for my Mayoral year.
“Following on from the Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III, I would also like to build upon the Coronation focus of ‘the big help out’ and the significant role volunteering plays within our communities.
“Ards and North Down Borough Council is part of the community, elected and appointed by you. As a part of this community, living here and raising my family here, I want to use my time as Mayor to ensure the Council works in partnership with the wider community to make this borough the best place it can be.”
She told the chamber: “There is a history of strong opinionated women in my family. If you go back to the Ulster Day declarations in 1912, with the Ulster Solemn League and Covenant, there were more females who signed the women’s declaration than the men’s declaration.”
Newly appointed DUP Alderman Stephen McIlveen said: “When she was first elected she was elected by one of the narrowest margins in Northern Ireland by just 3.06 votes. When I think of all of us just coming out of an election, we know how tense and stressful things can be even if there is a vote gap of a hundred, but I can’t imagine how it would be with one as close as that.”
He added: “Jennifer will of course keep all of us right during her term as mayor, as we all know she is the go-to person on standing orders. So I would encourage every member to bring a copy with them, just in case she does slip up, we can all have our revenge.”
Deputy Mayor Irwin told the chamber: “I have been here a relatively short time, but it has been a bit of a whirlwind, the past year or so, and thank you to everyone for their support and kind words during that time. And I thank the people of Bangor East and Donaghadee - as you will know I have done a hop across District Electoral Areas - so it is fantastic to get the support of the electorate there.”
At last month's elections, despite many new faces being elected, the party makeup of the council did not see major change. Out of 40 seats, the DUP remained the largest party, retaining 14 seats, as it had in the last mandate. Alliance gained two seats and continue as the second largest party, now with 12 seats.
The UUP had no change with eight seats, the Greens lost one and were returned with two seats in the new mandate, while the SDLP held its one seat, and three Independents were returned. Former TUV Councillor Stephen Cooper, who turned Independent during the last mandate, was not returned for this mandate.
The first monthly meeting of Ards and North Down Council under the direction of the new Mayor and Deputy Mayor will take place on Monday June 12.
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