Mayor roles for long-serving councillors
TWO of Swansea’s longest-serving councillors have become Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor.
Cllr Mary Jones succeeds Cllr Mark Child as Lord Mayor for 2021-22 and her deputy will be Cllr Mike Day.
As Lord Mayor Cllr Jones will have an important civic and ceremonial role as the city’s official ambassador. She will also be involved in raising money for good causes.
Cllr Jones will be supported by her husband Jeff, who is also a councillor on Swansea Council.
Cllr Jones will support three charities: Forget Me Not dementia day club; The Pettifor Trust; and Sands, the Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Society.
She said: “It is an incredible honour to have been elected by my peers to the Lord Mayoralty of Swansea. I am very grateful to them for their support and for the opportunity to serve the people of Swansea.
She added: “I’ve lived in Swansea nearly all my life and, as this past year of the pandemic has shown, there really are no more generous or hospitable people than the people of
Swansea.”
Cllr Jones was born in 1950 in Neath Hospital and lived in Skewen in her early years before moving to Swansea in 1961.
She left school at 16 and became a GPO telephonist. She met Jeff, who was also working for the Post Office, and they married in 1976. They have a son, daughter and four grandchildren.
Cllr Jones was elected on to Killay Community Council in 1992 and was chair for many years. In 1999 she stood for election in Killay North and was elected as city councillor for the Liberal Democrats.
In 2004, when Swansea Administration was formed, Cllr Jones was cabinet member for business
improvement. She was a cabinet member for eight years and served on the boards of Wales National Pool, Swansea Bay Regional Equality Council (SBREC) and Swansea Council for Voluntary Services (SCVS).
She is a governor at Hendrefoilan Primary School and chair of governors at Olchfa School.