“It has been an honour to be Mayor of Didcot,” says Mocky Khan who stepped down from his role last night (03).
Mr Khan, who was elected in May last year, was the first Asian mayor of the town which he said made him proud as it shows “the growing diversity” in Didcot.
He said his year has been “fun, entertaining, memorable, unique” and an “experience he shall never forget”.
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“Despite the unpredictable year,” he said. “I have enjoyed and loved every minute of being Mayor.
“My mayoral year was divided into four phases. First phase, lockdown and virtual meetings.
“I had to put the Mayoral chain on myself over a Zoom meeting at the annual Mayor-making.
“Second, cramming in loads of events in late summer when restrictions were easing. For about three months I was attending two or three events a day.
“Then back to virtual and no events when the omicron variant was threatening to hamper our Christmas celebrations.
“Final phase was the end of mayoral term scramble. This is where events that had been postponed were being held - this was a hectic phase but a fun one, not a great one for my waistline though.”
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Mr Khan’s primary aim for his term was to raise money for his two chosen charities, Coeliac UK and Play2Give, as well as raise the profile of the town.
He also wanted people to “have fun and feel safe” during the coronavirus pandemic.
He said: “I was impressed how the town and businesses came together to support those in need and the vulnerable during the pandemic - it was also great to see so many people visiting the Civic Hall to get vaccinated.”
Reflecting on his term, Mr Khan said it was a “pleasure” to attend events from a Bollywood night to a surprise dance flash mob.
He said: “I quickly realised that being mayor was a great responsibility and that events, groups and schools wanted the ‘chain’ to attend as it made their event special.
“I also chaired council and public meetings. There was always a lot of debate and passion. I hope that I allowed everyone’s voices to be heard and listened to.”
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Mr Khan has now been elected as the new Leader of the Council and is keen to improve facilities such as the new sports pavilion and splash park.
He said: “As the town expands and grows, I will continue to fight for the infrastructure that Didcot desperately needs and amplify the voice of residents in meetings that I attend”.
Councillor Pam Siggers has been elected as the new mayor.
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