At its Annual Meeting of 17th May, Felixstowe Town Council elected Councillor Seamus Bennett as the Mayor of Felixstowe for the Municipal Year 2023/24. On the same evening Cllr Mike Deacon was appointed as the Deputy Mayor.
On accepting the office of Mayor, Cllr Seamus Bennett, who has been Member of the Town Council since 2019, said:
“I am very honoured to accept the role of Mayor of Felixstowe for the civic year 2023-24 and am delighted to be joined by our experienced Town & District Councillor, Mike Deacon, who has been elected as Deputy Mayor.
Thank you to the outgoing Mayor, Cllr Sharon Harkin, who wore the Chain so successfully, with dignity and passion, in an unprecedentedly challenging year. Over 200 engagements, an already-legendary fashion show and dealing with many significant, momentous, tragic, and joyous events, Cllr Harkin handled them all with skill, grace and empathy.
I would like to thank all of the Town Councillors from the 2019-23 civic term, whether returning or not, for all that we achieved and learnt together, helping the town continue to grow and progress.
I found the great mutual respect within the council over the last 4 years to be inspirational. The Town Council is a genuinely collaborative, community-focused organisation that promotes mutual respect, shared democratic values and the common goal of working for the good of our favourite town. I will work hard to embody those values and get us off to a good start in year one of this new term. A year that will be filled with optimism, hope, and appreciation of where – and who – we are, and what we have.
We are fortunate to live in a unique, real seaside town, growing in popularity as both a place to live and a place to visit. A place tucked away in one of the least rainy, most sunny corners of Europe, where we face out towards and trade with the wider world through one of the greatest ports on the planet. Felixstowe is in many ways a place of balance – port and resort, coast and country, Deben and Orwell.
We have so many things to celebrate, get behind and really be proud of. Which is why I am extremely positive about our community and appreciative of our great town and all its physical, natural, and human assets. But I’m not complacent, because even here in this ‘lucky’ town we also face a growing demand for food banks, warm spaces, mental health services and constant threats to our local, and global, environment. So, I look forward to a busy year, supported by my fellow councillors and our excellent staff, working to do even more for the well-being and community of this special town, Felixstowe.”
If you would like the Mayor to attend a function in Felixstowe, or to simply ask him a question, please contact mayor@felixstowe.gov.uk