Elected councillors prepare for new roles

THE communities of Amersham and Chesham were in mourning this year when Pauline Wilkinson MBE died suddenly at home on June 21.
Mrs Wilkinson, 75, was a stalwart of local politics becoming the first Conservative councillor to ever serve as Chesham mayor and winning her third straight term representing Amersham on Bucks County Council in May.
Last Thursday, residents of the two towns went to the polls in two by-elections to fill the void with two Conservative councillors winning seats.
Mark Shaw, 40, a parliamentary worker with James Clappison MP for Hertsmere, won a seat on Chesham Town Council representing Newtown Ward with 255 votes.
Susan Jordan (Lib Dem) came in second with 166 votes while the rest of the votes went to candidates for Labour and The Green Party.
Mr Shaw said: "It is really exciting to have won but it was the result of lots of hard work and meeting lots of people.
"After the elation of winning comes the realisation of the task in hand and I can't wait to get stuck in.
"It is extremely difficult to replace someone like Pauline and they are huge shoes to fill. It was such a huge shock when she passed away and her passion and strong and purposeful attitude towards local politics has always been an inspiration to me."
Fellow Tory Steven Adams, 29, won the Amersham seat on Bucks County Council with a narrow 72 vote victory over Lib Dem candidate Davida Allen.
It was a remarkable comeback from Mr Adams after he lost his Chesham North West seat on the county council to the Lib Dems by 37 votes in the elections held in May.
He said: "It was an easy decision to stand again despite the disappointment at the last election.
"Since then I have got married and moved so to serve the Amersham ward is probably the best for me at the moment.
"The main reason I stood was because of Pauline. She was not only a colleague but was a friend and was the person who actually encouraged me to stand for election for the first time when I was 23.
"Everyone who knew Pauline told me she would of wanted me to stand. To be honest, all of the elections I have taken part in have been nail biters. They certainly do get the heart racing."
Mr Adams, a graphic designer, returns as the youngest member of Bucks County Council and hopes to pick up where he left off.
He said: "It is good to have young people on the council. I am not one of those people who say all councillors should be young because we need people with a host of different experiences.
"I am looking forward to getting involved again and trying to make a difference for people in Amersham."