New Lord Mayor for Swansea

Swansea Council is preparing to inaugurate it’s new Lord Mayor.

Councillor David Hopkins, ward member for Townhill and Cabinet member for Environment and Transportation, is set to become Lord Mayor for 2016/17 at a special ceremony in the city on May 20th.

As Lord Mayor he will have an important civic and ceremonial role in the life of the city. His year of duties will be varied and include receiving visiting dignitaries and presiding at civic functions. He will also be involved in raising money for local good causes.

Cllr Hopkins said: “I am delighted to have been nominated as Lord Mayor for 2016/17 and I am looking forward to taking on the role.

“It is an honour. I’m immensely proud to carry out the role on behalf of the Townhill ward.  To follow in my mother’s footsteps is a unique opportunity and I will do my utmost to uphold the role of First Citizen of our great city.”

Father of three and grandfather of four Councillor Hopkins has been a councillor for more than 25 years. He follows in the footsteps of his late mother Lilian Hopkin who was Lord Mayor in 1986 and Cockett Ward councillor for over 30 years.

He is a former pupil of St Joseph’s Primary School and Bishop Vaughan Comprehensive School and while learning his Trade as a Panel Beater and Sprayer at BT Rees, Oxford Street, he sat his City & Guilds at Mount Pleasant Campus.

He went on to work for 17 years in manufacturing in aluminium wire and cable in Port Tennant and during this time he became very involved in the T&G Union now known as Unite in which he held the role as Chair.

He took a keen interest in Health and Safety and equal rights and feels very strongly on these issues.  He now works for Real Alloy a Recycling Plant in Waunarlwydd where he is still very active and is Chair of the Union.  He is also a representative on the European Works Council.

His Lady Mayoress elect is his wife Beverley who is actively involved in the Hafod community.  She sits on the Governing Body of Hafod and Plasmarl Primary School and runs a Parent and Toddler Group in Hafod Community Centre where she sits on the Management Committee.  She is also a Councillor for the Landore Ward.

The Lord Mayor will be supported by Deputy Lord Mayor Councillor Philip Downing, ward member for Pontarddulais, who has served on the Council for more than 19 years.

He is chair of the Council’s Development Cabinet Advisory Committee and the Economy & Investment Cabinet Advisory Committee.

The ceremony to elect the Lord Mayor for the Municipal Year 2016 – 2017 and elect the Deputy Lord Mayor for the Municipal Year 2016 will take place in the Guildhall Council chamber on May 20th.