South Acton Councillor Named New Mayor For Ealing

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John Gallagher will support RNLI Chiswick and CAPE Ealing

Councillor John Gallagher donned Ealing’s civic robes after fellow councillors elected him as Mayor at the annual meeting of the full council last night.

Mrs Pauline Melson will be Mayoress and attend official engagements with the Mayor.  The Mayor has appointed Councillor Mohammed Aslam as his deputy to assist him with his duties throughout his mayoral year and Mrs Aslam is Deputy Mayoress.

Councillor Gallagher has served the borough for many years, first being appointed as an alderman on Ealing Council in 1978 and then becoming councillor for Springfield (now Acton Central) ward from 1986 to 1998.  He was elected to represent his current ward, South Acton, in 2006. 

Councillor Gallagher takes over from Councillor Rajinder Mann, who stepped down last night.  During his year of office Councillor Mann attended more than 400 official engagements and raised almost £50,000 for his charities, Age Concern Ealing and Ealing Association for the Blind.

Councillor Gallagher announced that his official mayoral charities will be the Chiswick branch of the Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI), which provides a rescue boat on the Thames; Community Activities Project Ealing (CAPE), a self-help charity working with people with mental illness and Epilepsy Action.

The Worshipful the Mayor of the London Borough of Ealing, Councillor Gallagher, said: “It is a great honour and privilege for me to have been elected mayor by my colleagues and I’m especially proud to be one of only a handful of mayors to hail from Acton.  I’m very much looking forward to my year of office and I’m sure it will be both rewarding and very busy.

“I’ve chosen these three local good causes as my official charities for the year because they are very close to my heart.  I am supporting the RNLI in memory of three dear friends, Joan Baker who was Mayoress in Brent in the 1960s, Joyce Mason who was Mayoress in Ealing in the 1970s and Hetty Rentle, who was Mayoress in 1984/5, who all worked tirelessly for the cause.

“I’m keen to support charities that look after some of the more vulnerable members of the community and I’m pleased to support CAPE, which has such an excellent reputation for helping those with mental illness.  I will also be raising money for Epilepsy Action West London because again it is a small local charity with limited fundraising capacity, but makes a real difference to people’s lives.   

“I will be hosting numerous events throughout the year to raise money and I hope that friends, colleagues and residents will help me support those causes.”

More details about the role of the Mayor are available on the council’s website www.ealing.gov.uk.

 

May 25, 2011