WOKINGHAM borough’s new mayor will be a trailblazer.
That’s the verdict of outgoing council leader Clive Jones who nominated Cllr Beth Rowland to succeed Cllr Caroline Smith.
He made the comment during the annual council meeting of Wokingham Borough Council, held on Thursday, May 18.
Cllr Rowland has served as deputy mayor for the past year, and has been a resident of South Lake, the ward she represents, for nearly 50 years, and spent 40 of them as a school governor.
“I believe that Beth will be the first the mayor who uses a mobility scooter,” Cllr Jones continued. “She’ll be a trailblazer, showing that disabilities should not hold anyone back from achieving high public office.”
He also praised her commitment to the borough, saying: “She is embedded in our community and knows our community well.”
And he felt she also had the necessary attributes to be the first citizen of the borough including someone who has “an unblemished character, is trustworthy, is fair and someone that the residents of our borough can look to hold the office of Mayor with integrity, with dignity, with authority and with honour.”
“I believe that Beth has all the necessary qualities to be a fantastic Mayor of our borough and I am proud to have been asked to propose her nomination,” he concluded.
Cllr Jones also paid tribute to Cllr Smith as she stepped down, saying: “You have been a wonderful mayor. When I proposed you last year, I knew that you would carry out your duties with fairness, with full regard to the council’s constitution and with a smile on your face. You have done this, thank you.”
Her charity of the year will be Woodley Foodbank.
The nomination for deputy mayor is Cllr Adrian Mather. Cllr Jones said he would be “an excellent holder of this very important office”.
“He will be a very able deputy to our new mayor Beth. Adrian is someone who has an unblemished character, he is trustworthy, someone who is fair and someone that the residents of our borough can look to hold the office of deputy mayor with integrity, with dignity, with authority and with honour,” Cllr Jones said.
