Councillor Belinda Donovan is Elected Mayor

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Chosen charities are Mayhew Animal Home and West London Action for Children

Councillor Belinda Donovan was elected as the new mayor of Hammersmith & Fulham at the council Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, May 30.

Cllr Donovan succeeds Cllr Frances Stainton in the role, who is taking on the role of deputy mayor this year.

Cllr Donovan, 54, has been a councillor since 2006 for Addison ward. During her career she has served as assistant cabinet member for crime, and along with local coordinators, has helped to increased the number of Neighbourhood Watch schemes in the borough from five to 300.

This year, the mayor has chosen two local organisations as her official mayoral charities. They are the Mayhew Animal Home in Kensal Green, which looks after unwanted and abandoned animals from across west London, and West London Action for Children, which offers a range of counselling and therapy services for children in need, and their families, in H&F and Kensington and Chelsea.

Speaking after last night’s AGM about the year ahead and her charities, Cllr Donovan said: " I chose these charities as, during my time as a councillor, I have seen first hand how improtant their work is.

" My real enthusiasm is for reducing crime, and my charities are linked to this - the Mayhew Animal Home helps rehabilitate and re-home former fighting dogs who have been mistreated or abandoned by their owners, while just one aspect of the work of West London Action for Children is to help children and families experiencing domestic violence.

" My grandfather was mayor of Beaconsfield and his life’s work was linking the town to the M40 – something he was incredibly proud of – but following in his footsteps as mayor was something I never would have expected.

"It is such a great honour to be elected mayor of Hammersmith & Fulham and to represent the borough. I am very much looking forward to serving our residents in the year ahead.”

Cllr Donovan was born in Ladbroke Grove but has spent almost all of her life living in our borough. She is a single mother of three sons, aged 25, 23 and 13, and ran her own successful catering business for 11 years before deciding to concentrate on her work as a councillor full-time.

Cllr Donovan’s consorts are David Brough, Andrew Macdonald and Charles Forsyth.

 

May 31, 2012