Rosa has learned from her first year
One year on, Rosa Zambonini reflects on her election to serve Wishaw’s Ward 20
With one year under her belt, Councillor Rosa Zambonini looks back on the highlights and challenges she has faced in her first term serving the Wishaw community.
The SNP councillor was elected to serve as one of the four members for Ward 20 of North Lanarkshire Council last August.
The by- election came after Marion Fellows resigned from North Lanarkshire Council in May 2015, after being elected as MP for Motherwell and Wishaw.
The single mum- of- two, of Netherton, said she has learned a lot in her first 12 months in the job.
She said: “It’s been one of the fastest, most rewarding twelve months of my life. I’ve loved having the honour of serving the people of Wishaw and haven’t taken a moment for granted.
“Being in the council’s debating chamber is a learning curve. It’s all new to me but I feel like I handle it well and I’m fighting hard.”
Rosa says being involved and active in the community has made her see how generous and helpful the people of Wishaw really are.
She added: “People would tell me I was mad to want to become a councillor and how it would be a hard task - which it is.
“However, almost as quickly as I got elected the Syrian refugee crisis hit and pictures of Aylan Kurdi were all over our screens.
“I decided to organise a charity van and the people of Wishaw almost overwhelmed me with kindness and it was full to the rafters.
“A lot of people then asked what I would be doing for people in Wishaw and so we launched project 25 which Continued on p15