The Mayor of Darlington for the Municipal Year 2008/09
Councillor Ian Haszeldine
Welcome
Welcome to the Mayoral webpages. I, Councillor Ian Haszeldine, was elected as Mayor of Darlington at the Annual Council meeting held on 15th May, 2008, with my wife Lynne, as Mayoress. We are both Councillors and represent the Lingfield Ward of the Town. I have been a Councillor for 13 years and Lynne was elected at the last local elections held in May 2007. We were both appointed as Deputy Mayor and Mayoress in 2007.
The theme for my year of office will be to involve the communities of Darlington in Civic life, and encourage a greater understanding of our wonderful historic town and democratic processes. I hope to invite as many organisations as possible to the Town Hall and visit all schools within the Borough as part of their citizenship curriculum.
I have given a lot of thought to the many requests that I have received from charitable organisations for support and I have decided that, rather than support a single charity in my Mayoral year, I want to support many different Darlington charties and communities. I will do my utmost to raise funds to support as many organisations and individuals as possible, in order to benefit the whole community.
The Mayor's Ball, is one of the social events of the year, and I intend to support a named local charity, with some of the proceeds from the Ball. The Ball this year will be held on Friday, 17th October, 2008, and should you be interested in attending the Ball, the tickets will be available in August from the Borough Council.
I believe that Darlington is the best place in the country to live and work, the residents of which are some of the most honest and caring people in the country, and I am very proud, humbled and privileged to be the first citizen of this forward thinking and growing town. I will endeavour to uphold the dignity and tradition of the Mayoralty set by all my predecessors and will work hard in the interests of the people of Darlington.
If you would like to know more abou the Mayorality or invite me, as your Mayor for 2008/09, to a function, please use the link below to access details on how to contact me.
How to contact the Mayor?
Mayoral Acceptance Speech - 15th May 2008 (film)
Duration: 8 minutes 40 seconds