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Alison, Gerry and Sarah Lewin. |
My Dad has been a Borough Councillor for almost as long as I can remember, which is to say he was first elected while I was still at Holywell back in 1992. I remember the house being full of blue ribbon rosettes and lots of papers. I remember being proud of the way people asked for his help and advice. But I don’t remember thinking that, nearly 28 years later, it would ever be this hard to put into words just what he has achieved in that time. Luckily I have been able to ask other people to confirm dates and names, but as well as that they have come back with unsolicited comments all along the lines of “your Dad is definitely one of the good guys”.
Long before he was elected to Swale Borough Council Dad was an active member of the community and I know this will continue. That’s because he is someone who puts his time, energy and money into things he believes in. School Governor, Parish Councillor, RBL, Chairman of FOSM, regular at The Crown, singer with St. Mary’s Choir, Choral Group and SOCS… Apologies to any group I may have forgotten - it’s hard to keep up with him sometimes!
His enthusiasm for and interest in community groups meant he had a fantastic (but hectic) two years when he had the honour to be made Deputy and then Mayor of Swale between May 1997 and 1999. With Mum he attended hundreds of engagements to support and publicise charities, volunteer groups and events. Despite, or maybe because of, him being a keen sailor it even saw him rescued twice by the RNLI! All as part of an event highlighting the importance of their work of course - although I’m not sure they expected him to jump in the second time… His chosen Mayoral Charity was the Royal British Legion and he has now been the local organiser for the Poppy Appeal for over 25 years.
He joined the Cabinet of Swale Borough Council in 2002. Following time as Party Spokesman and then Cabinet Member for Leisure Services, he became a Director of Swale Contract Leisure which runs Leisure Centres in Sittingbourne and Sheerness. With the problems at one time in attracting Directors it was only his determination that saved the Centres from having to close. The other outside bodies he chose to represent the Borough on reflected his love of the sea and our coastline. For some years he represented the area on the Local Government Association Coastal Issues Special Interest Group at a National Level.
In 2007 he became Deputy Leader, a post which he has held ever since. From Andrew Bowles, Leader Swale Borough Council: “He was THE perfect Deputy Leader. Always happy to hold the fort and ensure that "the nuts and bolts" of policy were tightened whilst I went off doing the "blue sky thinking" and influencing decision makers at Regional and National levels”.
At the same time Dad became Cabinet Member for Planning which he has often joked makes him the “most hated man in Swale” as you’ll upset someone no matter what you do! I’m sure that not all decisions he’s been involved in have made him popular with everyone, but he has always been brave enough to be someone who will stand up and make those decisions when necessary. This is shown in the fact he has chaired the Local Plan Panel for many years with colleagues telling me he is “unstinting with his time” has “incredible attention to detail and ability to absorb and retain detailed information” and “can truly be said to have shaped the area he lives in for decades to come”.
Finally, to answer the question I’ve been asked since I was old enough to vote: yes. Yes, I did vote for him each and every time I was able to. Not because he was my Dad, but because I was in the fortunate position of seeing first-hand just how hard he worked for the community he represented. Yes, I am proud to say I voted for my Dad.
Alison Lewin
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