Angela Lawrence was elected as the Mayor of Abingdon this evening at a crowded Guildhall, and Helen Pighills was elected her Deputy.
Angela is the first “Independent” to become Mayor of Abingdon since 1982 (when Brian Jones was Mayor). She said “It is such a thrill and honour to be elected Mayor of our lovely town.”
Samantha Bowring, the outgoing Mayor, described the many and varied Abingdon people and societies she had met during her year as Mayor, and described Abingdon as a brilliant cool town.
Four organisations and people received Mayors awards from the the outgoing Mayor:
- Abingdon Youth Football Club
- Stephen Body who has been leading scouts for 50 years
- Eleanor Dangerfield of the Tithe Farm and Ladygrove Residents Association and Green Gym.
- Colin Galloway who cares for the town by litter picking and voluntary work with the Green Gym and Northmoor Trust.
It’s heartening to see that the new Lady mayor has obtained her new role by recognition for her achievements and not merely by the party she subscribes too.
Congratulations Angela, being principled can pay dividends.
And congratulations to Samantha for her year in office – she brought some refreshing new ideas and combining it with her family responsibilities must have been very hard work.
Thank you for your kind words Steve.
It was lovely that all councillors supported both me and Helen, it created a good atmosphere to have that unanimity.
Samantha did work very hard indeed and brought some fresh thinking to the role. I particularly enjoyed her civic service in the Baptist church. Quite different from the traditional mayor’s civic service but very sincere and very uplifting.
Well done Samantha.
Congratulations to Samantha on a great year as Mayor. Her speech at Mayor Making was a real tribute to the many Abingdon people working hard to help the town.