Praise for the ‘people’s mayor’
Toby Paine
Praise has been given to outgoing Gosport mayor Councillor Jamie Hutchinson who has been honoured as ‘the people’s mayor’ in a ceremony today where he passed on the role.
Gosport Borough Council has elected Cllr Martin Pepper as the town’s new mayor in the annual mayor-making ceremony this week.
Giving thanks to Cllr Hutchinson at the ceremony, the leader of the council Peter Chegwyn said the outgoing mayor ‘has always been approachable’.
‘Throughout your year in office you’ve always been willing to open the mayor’s parlour to anyone,’ he said.
‘You were always willing to engage with the public, mixing with the community and you have served our community in so many ways – that’s what makes you the people’s mayor.’
In response, Cllr Hutchinson started by saying Gosport is a ‘wonderful place to live’.
‘Our town is home to amazing residents, made up of volunteers that improve our well-being and quality of life.
‘I attended the St George’s Day scouts parade, in a town as small as ours there were 500 scouts and cadets – those numbers would not be possible without the dedication and enthusiasm of the volunteers.
‘The BMX club, an amazing organisation run by volunteers, not only have they given young people an influence but allowed them to build their dreams.
‘Our Gosport cheerleaders have just returned from the world championships in America with gold medals.
‘Be assured, young people can and do thrive in Gosport.
‘To the councillors and the community, thank you for allowing me the honour to represent Gosport, I wish our new mayor Martin and our town every success.’
In his acceptance speech, Cllr Pepper announced his chosen charities to be Community Spirit, a voluntary action group, and the First Light Trust, a charity set up to support local veterans.
He said: ‘Of course, there are many other very worthy causes – sadly we live in difficult times and where resources are scarce we must all do our part however large, however small or seemingly inconsequential to make tomorrow a better day than today.’