Mayor of the Borough

Each year in May the Council elects a Mayor of the Borough to represent it at various civic functions and to raise money for local good causes.

The Mayor of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames for the Municipal Year 2009/10 is Councillor Celia Hodges.

Biography for the Mayor, Celia Hodges

I have lived in Richmond since 1975. I am married with two grown up children, both of whom went to Richmond schools from Nursery to Tertiary.

I have been a Councillor since January 2005 when I was elected in a by-election. I was then re-elected in 2006 and was Deputy Mayor during that year.

I have been a school governor since 1988 and Chair of Governors at a local Primary school for 6 years and have therefore been closely involved with educational matters.

I am also a keen gardener and have an allotment in the Borough and have been secretary of our Allotment Association for about 9 years.

My mayoral message for the year is "Accessibility" and my two chosen charities, both local, are SPEAR which is a charity that helps homeless people, and The River Thames Boat Project, which provides educational visits for school children and groups of elderly or disabled people on the River Thames on a Dutch barge which was purchased 21 years ago.