Issue - meetings
To appoint a Councillor of the Borough to be Deputy Mayor
Meeting: 29/04/2021 - Council (Item 4)
To appoint a Councillor of the Borough to be Deputy Mayor
An intimation will be received from the Mayor regarding the appointment of a Councillor of the Borough to be Deputy Mayor, in accordance with Standing Order 27(b).
Additional documents:
Decision:
Councillor Abdi Aden was appointed to serve as Deputy Mayor of the London Borough of Brent for the 2021/22 Municipal Year.
Minutes:
Councillor Colacicco, as newly appointed Mayor, thanked members for her nomination and appointment as Mayor. She then announced that she had appointed Councillor Abdi Aden to serve as Deputy Mayor for the 2021/2022 Municipal Year.
Councillor Colacicco then formally returned thanks for her appointment and began by commenting on her pride in being nominated as Mayor and expressing gratitude to her predecessor Councillor Ezeajughi for his outstanding work across the borough during his two years as Mayor, which she pointed out would be difficult to follow. She also congratulated Councillor Aden on his appointment as Deputy Mayor and thanked all members for their faith in appointing her to take on the role as first citizen of the borough.
The Mayor then went on to share some information about her background. She explained that she was the daughter of Italian immigrants who had moved to the country in the 1960s. She studied Psychology at City University and had then spent the 1980s extensively travelling on business, where she had developed her fascination for other cultures. Having settled down to married life and having two children, she had gradually became more interested in the growing environmental movement. Following a period as a Friends of the Earth activist she then had the honour and privilege to be elected as a councillor for Mapesbury ward in 2014.
Whilst commenting on what she felt her parents would have made of her appointment as Mayor, Councillor Colacicco emphasised the importance of the role and of councillors in general. Recognising the difference they could make in representing their local communities, she encouraged residents to make contact with their local councillors and to get involved whenever possible.
Councillor Colacicco then outlined her aims for her Mayoralty. She hoped to help Brent get the recognition it deserved, and to encourage everyone to make small changes to their lifestyles, including cutting their carbon footprint. Her overall message would be that small change added up, and her mantra would be that Brent is best.
Describing Brent as a melting pot full interesting variety and complex contradictions Councillor Colacicco went on to reflect on some of these. Referring to the report commissioned by the Council on poverty she highlighted the example of residents having to pay for the costs of inner city life yet at the same time living on a suburban wage. She also highlighted the fact the Borough was home to the world famous Wembley Stadium at the centre of the £25b football industry but with one third of households in Brent some way dependant on the welfare system. Whilst supporting the delivery of thousands of new homes, she also highlighted the significant levels of overcrowding in the borough, particularly (despite the Council’s ongoing efforts) in the under-regulated private rented sector. Turning to education she also highlighted the fact that 165 languages were spoken across the boroughs schools with 96% managing to achieve good or outstanding Ofsted ratings. As a final example of the apparent contradictions she referred to ... view the full minutes text for item 4
Meeting: 14/09/2020 - Council (Item 4)
To appoint a Councillor of the Borough to be Deputy Mayor
An intimation will be received from the Mayor regarding the appointment of a Councillor of the Borough to be Deputy Mayor, in accordance with Standing Order 27(b).
Additional documents:
Decision:
Councillor Lia Colacicco appointed to continue as Deputy Mayor of the London Borough of Brent for the 2020/21 Municipal Year.
Minutes:
Councillor Ezeajughi, as Mayor, thanked Members for his nomination and re-appointment as Mayor. He then announced that he had re-appointed Councillor Lia Colacicco as Deputy Mayor for the remainder of the 2020/2021 municipal year.
Councillor Ezeajughi, as Mayor, then formally returned thanks for his re-appointment and in so doing, began by highlighting how fast his initial year in office had passed by.
Commenting on the huge honour and privilege in being nominated and re-appointed to continue serving as Mayor he recognised how difficult a year it had been for everyone as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic along with the impact this had also had on his civic year and fundraising activities. In terms of his ongoing fundraising, the Mayor confirmed that he would be continuing to support his two chosen charities the Sickle Cell Society and Jason Roberts Foundation as well as continuing to raise awareness and support families and communities affected by the pandemic.
The Mayor also took the opportunity to thank everyone for their support and kindness over the previous year and to advise that he looked forward to continue working with everyone again over the course of the remainder of the current Municipal Year.
Reflecting briefly on his time as Mayor, to date, Councillor Ezeajughi outlined a number of highlights from his work engaging with residents as well as representing the borough both nationally and internationally. Prior to the lockdown restrictions coming into effect he informed members that he had been proud to attended 350 engagements with some notable events including:
· Being a part of the Rise event, as the spectacular opening to Brent’s year as the London Borough of Culture;
· Winning first prize at the London New Year’s Day parade and receiving £10,000 for his Mayoral charities;
· The visit of Her Royal Highness, The Duchess of Cornwall to the Granville Centre in Kilburn;
· The Pride of Brent Awards;
· The Wembley Stadium Football tournament with the FA;
· Cutting the ribbon for the first rainbow crossing outside the Civic Centre;
· The opening of a new Brent Hub in Kilburn;
· Hosting the first Windrush celebration in Brent;
· The grand opening of the West London Vascular and Interventional Centre at Northwick Park Hospital;
· An awards ceremony hosted for NHS staff at Wembley Park Stadium;
· Visiting Yibin in China as a guest of the Mayor of Yibin;
· Visiting his home state as a guest of Governor His Excellency, Chief Willie Obiano and Her Excellency Ebelechukwu Obiano of Anambra state at the Caring Family Enhancement Initiative (CAFÉ) charity in Nigeria with whom he was collaborating on Sickle Cell Disease awareness.
In addition, the Mayor advised that within the rules during lockdown he had visited some of the mutual aid organisations that had been working hard to distribute food to many people in the borough, including the main Brent food hub. He had also been delighted to open London’s first local Covid-19 test centre in Harlesden as well as being able (as the restrictions were changed) to once again start hosting citizenship ... view the full minutes text for item 4
Meeting: 01/05/2019 - Council (Item 4)
To appoint a Councillor of the Borough to be Deputy Mayor
An intimation will be received from the incoming Mayor regarding the appointment of a Councillor of the Borough to be Deputy Mayor, in accordance with Standing Order 27(b).
Additional documents:
Decision:
Councillor Lia Colacicco appointed as Deputy Mayor of the London Borough of Brent for the 2019/20 Municipal Year.
Minutes:
Councillor Ezeajughi, as newly elected Mayor thanked Members for his nomination and appointment as Mayor. He then announced that he had appointed Councillor Lia Colacicco as Deputy Mayor for the 2019/2020 municipal year.
Councillor Colacicco and her consort Mr Tom Evans then moved to the dais. The Mayor’s robe and chain of office were then passed from Councillor Mahmood to Councillor Ezeajughi and the Mayoress’ badge from Mrs Arshad to Mrs Ezeajughi. Councillor Mahmood was presented with the past Mayor’s badge and ribbon and Mrs Arshad was presented with the past Mayoress’ badge.
Councillor Ezeajughi, as newly elected Mayor, then formally returned thanks for his appointment and to everyone for attending the ceremony including the following as his special guests:
· Deputy Lieutenant Mei Sim Lei
· First Lady of Anambra State, Dr Mrs Ebere Obiano
· His Excellency Ambassador George Oguntande, Nigerian High Commissioner (represented by Special Advisor Minister Oludare E. Folowosele
He began by stating what a huge honour and privilege it had been to have been nominated and elected to serve as Mayor. He thanked everyone for expressing their trust, confidence and faith in his ability to carry out the role, recognising the significant achievements of previous Mayors.
As background to his appointment, Councillor Ezeajughi highlighted his origins in Nigeria with him coming to the UK in 2004 and being proud to call Wembley and Brent his home and having represented Stonebridge ward from 2014.
In terms of his family, he highlighted that he had been happily married to Ijeoma for 15 years and had been blessed with 2 sons and 2 daughters whom he thanked for their support and was pleased had been able to join him for the ceremony.
The Mayor advised that his interest in politics had started at a young age following his late father (Sir Simeon Okeke Ezeajughi) having become the Deputy Chairman of Orumba North local government area in Anambra State after his career in education as a Head Teacher and Inspector of Schools. He highlighted how attending meetings with his father had inspired him to take an interest in local grassroots politics and had led to his interest and ambition to stand for various positions both within Nigeria and then the UK for which, he felt, his father would have been very proud.
The Mayor advised that he was delighted to have been joined by so many colleagues, friends and family from all over the UK and also Nigerian whom he thanked for their support. He pointed out that he was looking forward to working with all Members of the Council over the next year and also took the opportunity to pay tribute to his predecessor Councillor Mahmood for his hard work in flying the flag for the Borough and way he had conducted himself so diligently and responsibly during his time as Mayor. He was especially grateful for the generosity and support shown by Councillor Mahmood during the period of transition. He also acknowledged and ... view the full minutes text for item 4