The Mayor before making his announcements, advised Council that at the last ordinary Council, he made a point indicating that a Conservative Councillor had made an incorrect statement. The Mayor advised that he was wrong to indicate that Member to be a Conservative Member, when it could have in fact, been any Councillor in attendance at the meeting.

The Mayor’s announcement was as follows:-

“I would like to say that it has been an absolute pleasure to serve as the Mayor of Bridgend County Borough Council for 2019/2020.    I may not have got everything right throughout my term but everyone makes mistakes.  Well at least I know I do and I’m not afraid to admit to them and learn from them.  The year has not gone as planned, as I am sure you are all aware of with the restrictions imposed on us as part of the Covid19 pandemic and the reason that I have become the longest serving Mayor of Bridgend CBC.

I would have liked to do more fundraising events but unfortunately, time and pandemic have not allowed that.  Back in November 2019 I organised very successful afternoon event called ‘Music with the Mayor’ at the Court Colman Manor.  At the event guests were treated to bottomless Prosecco and canapés for the first hour and a half.  Guests were also treated to a musical extravaganza of local musical artists and internationally renowned drag artist ‘Pixie Perez’.  A special thank you to all artists who gave their time free of charge and to the owners of the Court Colman Manor for allowing us to use their venue free of charge. Without the support of my very good friend Ryan Phillips I would never have been able to pull the whole event together.  He worked tirelessly for months to make sure that the event was a success.  Also a thank you to everyone that donated raffle prizes and for those councillors that attended the event.

As Bridgend CBC first openly gay Mayor it was important to me to choose a charity that was close to my heart.  I champion equalities and diversity throughout my life not just as a Councillor.  My chosen charity was Pride Cymru and I have had great pleasure informing them that we will be transferring £4954.54 to them to support the fantastic work they do.

Throughout my year, I have encouraged Councillors to donate provisions to Bridgend Food Bank at our monthly full council meetings.  I would like to thank all those that have donated in helping Bridgend Food Bank feed those in society that experience such extreme food poverty.  I was particularly impressed by the imagination of those Councillors that put together their reverse advent hampers.  The Food Bank were extremely grateful for all we did for them.

As well as attending many events, I set myself the task of improving the way that this Council supported the role of the Mayor.  During my year, I am pleased to say that we introduced a new online giving platform as part of the Council’s website.  Definitely a step in the right direction.

I want to thank all the staff at Bridgend CBC, in particular all of Democratic Services for putting up with me when I ask why or why not.  Most of all my thanks to Roger for coordinating all of my Mayoral visits and events and driving me to make sure I got there on time.

The life of a Mayor can be very demanding and lonely and I would not have managed had it not been for my fabulous consort Cllr Nicole Burnett.  I am sorry I never bought you all the shoes, dresses and handbags you thought you were entitled to.

Last of all I want to wish the new Mayor and Consort all the best for their term and I hope you enjoy it as much as I have”.