Page 60 - Phonebox Magazine June 2010

Councillor Corner
A contribution from Cllr Debbie Brock and Cllr Peter Geary
AT LAST I am allowed to write this article again after the election time. The rules for elections are very strict, there is a limited amount of money that each candidate is allowed to spend. This varies for each ward depending upon the total number of electors but every expense, even if it is something that you do not pay for, must be included. Having asked for clarification from the returning officer about this column his advice was that I should not contribute as it may be challenged by other parties and therefore for the past two months our column has been written by Peter alone.
THANK YOU
Elections seem to have been a long time ago, but it was in fact only the beginning of last month and this is my first opportunity to say “thank you” to everyone who voted.
The Olney Ward had the largest turnout of any ward in Milton Keynes with 77.3% of those eligible to vote voting, the highest for many years. The local election figures are below but I was delighted to be returned as councillor for the Olney Ward with a majority that made me feel very humble.
Becoming Mayor
my great honour to be elected as the Mayor of Milton Keynes.
The Mayor’s role is a civic one in Milton Keynes as we do not as yet have a directly elected Mayor with executive powers. As a result, my responsibility is to chair the council meetings that happen monthly and to be the council’s representative at many of the functions that the Mayor is invited to every year, 650 last year. Another part of my job is to select and raise money for charity during the year. This year I have selected two charities to be the Mayor’s Charity for the year, these are Willen Hospice and Bletchley Park.
Most people who have lived in our area will have known someone who has received fantastic care from Willen Hospice. It will celebrate its 30th anniversary this year and for all those years has offered fantastic care to people suffering from terminal illnesses either in their own homes or at the hospice in its tranquil setting on the edge of Willen Lake. The hospice also offers practical advice and counselling to the families of those suffering terminal illnesses. Currently they look after 400 people a year and most of their income comes from fundraising. This year I intend to not only raise money for the hospice but also to raise its profile further among the residents of Milton Keynes.
My second charity is Bletchley Park. Bletchley Park is probably known for being the home of the code breakers during World War II where some of the best minds in the world set about deciphering the German radio codes sent by Enigma machines amongst others. To help with this they designed and built the world’s first programmable computer, so Bletchley Park is where the modern computer, that seems to affect almost every part of our daily lives, was born. The Park is still very much the same as it was during the war but some of its wooden huts where codes were deciphered have fallen into a very poor
state of repair. The
park also strangely
enough seems to be
better known further
afield than it is in
Milton Keynes. I
therefore will hope to
raise the awareness
of Bletchley Park and
also raise some
money towards its
everyday running
costs.
The Mayor also traditionally selects a theme for the year in
office and
while there
are a
number of things I would like to accomplish this year my main theme will be cycling. I am unfortunately not a dedicated cyclist but I do enjoy cycling and want to raise its profile in Milton Keynes as a great way of having fun, keeping fit and also getting from one place to another whether that’s for pleasure or even commuting to work. Hopefully this will see more focus given to cycling in MK and, fingers crossed, more investment into the current barriers that limit cycling usage.
For the last few years I have also been a member of the Corporate Parenting Panel at Milton Keynes Council and this has given me the opportunity to meet some of our looked after children. During this year I want to raise the profile of the 252 children in the Council’s care and involve them more in my year. If you would like to see brief highlights of the Mayor Making Ceremony you can do at http://www.askmk.tv
This year is going to be very busy but above all I still remain your councillor for the Olney ward and Peter any myself will still be as much involved in the day to day issues as we always have been. Please get in touch if you have any matter that we can help with and we will continue to look forward to seeing you at our regular surgeries on the first Friday of every month at the Olney Centre between 7:30 and 8:30.
Contact details:
Cllr Debbie Brock and Cllr Peter Geary, c/o Civic Offices, 1 Saxon Gate East, CMK MK9 3HG
TEL 01234 714260 EMAIL debbie.brock@milton-keynes.gov.uk peter.geary@milton-keynes.gov.uk
Independent Motorcycle Technician
G Service G Sales
G Tyres
G MOT
G Collection and Delivery
01933 663561 • 07890 085891 Long Lodge Farm, Main Road, Grendon, Northants NN7 1JW
Debbie, Peter & the Mayors Cadet MC1 Tim Bell.
For the past year I have been the Deputy Mayor of Milton Keynes. During this time I was fortunate to have been able to undertake 123 functions for the Mayor and have had an insight into some of the fantastic work that goes on in Milton Keynes and the surrounding areas. As with many authorities it is becoming a tradition in Milton Keynes that the Deputy Mayor becomes the Mayor the following year and at the Annual Council meeting on the 18th of May it was
60 Phonebox Magazine
GEARY, Deborah Ann, The Conservative Party Candidate, 3243 MENZIES, Valerie Kathleen, Liberal Democrats, 1267
JONES, David Courtney, The Labour Party Candidate, 526 GREEN, Judith Dana, UK Independence Party (UKIP), 194