Tewkesbury borough councillors have elected Andrew Reece as their new mayor.
The Conservative ward councillor for Cleeve St Michael’s succeeds councillor Gill Blackwell who has been in post since 2019.
Council leader Rob Bird, who proposed councillor Reece to be mayor, said he would be a fantastic ambassador for the borough.
“The key to his success? His sociability and his ability to talk to anyone about anything,” he said.
“He’s probably the most sociable person I’ve ever met. Don’t try walking down a street with him, you’ll never get anywhere. Because every few seconds someone will come up and talk to him.
“They say you are only seven people removed from anyone on this planet. Well I say, don’t bother, go straight to Andrew and you’ll cut out all the steps in between.”
He said councillor Preece was an avid cricket, rugby, skittles player and a grandmaster at the pub quiz.
“He is like the premier league loan star of the pub quiz scene,” councillor Bird added.
Councillor Reece thanked the council for the honour of being elected mayor.
He said there are positive things to take forward despite the last year being difficult due to the pandemic.
“We can be very proud in the way our officers have dealt with this pandemic, working remotely and taking on extra duties without hesitation,” he said.
“We can be very proud of the residents of the borough. They have had to make their own sacrifices during the Covid restrictions and have put the safety and wellbeing of their loved ones first.”
The council elected John Murphy as deputy mayor.
