Dear Sir,
On behalf of Cllr Paul Crudass and I, may I thank everyone who voted for us in the recent Darlington Borough Election. We feel privileged that once again you have placed your trust in us to represent the Heighington and Coniscliffe Ward.
Our Ward is probably the largest area in Darlington, extending from the Baydale pub on the outskirts of Darlington, through to Killerby, north to the borders of Shildon around the eastern side of Newton Aycliffe and now extending over to Brafferton, Coatham Mundeville and down to the White Horse at Harrogate Hill.
It is a beautiful rural area consisting of small villages, hamlets and farms with six Parish Councils and five Parish Meetings, but despite its increased size we will continue to make ourselves available to everyone irrespective of whether you voted for us or not.
By the time this newspaper is delivered, Ruth and I will have stood down as Mayor and Mayoress of Darlington. We have had a fantastic year and we thank everyone who contributed to help make it so, including everyone who has supported me over the years. We have organised several fundraising events ourselves and with those organised by St Michael’s Church and Archers Ice Cream we have raised a considerable amount of money for our two charities, The Butterwick Hospice Young People’s Unit and the Phoenix Recovery Centre Catterick – final amount to be confirmed.
Over the year we have received many ‘e’ mail messages congratulating us on our Mayoral appointment and been humbled by people who have stopped us in the street to say how proud they are, having the Mayor of Darlington living in Heighington. Others living in the Ward including many organisations said they were happy we were chosen to represent the Borough as Mayor.
We thank Cllr Wendy Hillary and her consort Ged for their support and friendship and we wish them well in the future. Whilst it has been a very busy Mayoral year I have still maintained and prioritised my Councillor’s responsibilities and now we are back to ‘normal’ my work load on your behalf will continue as before.
Councillor Gerald G. Lee
