Tony Rogers Mayor of Chesterfield 2022
Interview with the new Mayor of Chesterfield - Liberal Democrat Councillor Tony Rogers
First of all congratulations on being elected as Mayor of Chesterfield. What does that mean to you?
It's with great pride that I'm the 381st Mayor of Chesterfield. Our Town has a long history of supporting the Mayor and many people have already congratulated me or have written to me with their Best Wishes.
How do you get to be the Mayor of Chesterfield?
It's down to seniority and how long you've been a Borough Councillor. I've been a Councillor for 12 years but if several Councillors had the same length of service it would be offered in alphabetical order. Equally some people don't want the Mayoralty either so Democratic Services have to check with the person before they are offered the position of being Mayor.
It must have been very difficult to decide on the charities you are going to support?
My wife Sharon nursed terminally ill children so Bluebell Wood Children's Hospice seemed an obvious choice especially when Cllr Shirley Niblock said it had not been chosen before. We've also had a family member and know of other people who have developed Alzheimer's Disease so again another obvious choice.
If you could invite a famous politician from the past or current times, who would you invite to dinner and why?
Tony Benn's son Hilary because Tony and I contested several elections against each other and actually became the best of friends. I'd like to meet Hilary as we never met and we could have a good talk about his father. It looked likely I would become an MP but I didn't want to live in London so I stood aside for Paul Holmes who became our MP for 2 terms
Basil D'Oliveira however is the guest I would really like to invite for dinner as in my opinion he was the greatest cricketeer the world has ever known and I'm a great cricket fan after playing local cricket for several years.
Thank you so much Tony for taking time out of your busy schedule to do this interview. We all hope you enjoy being the First Citizen of Chesterfield and raise lots of money to help your chosen charities.
Interviewed by Shirley Niblock, Equality and Diversity Lead for Chesterfield Liberal Democrats. June 2022
notes:
Tony was elected as Liberal Democrat councillor for Moor ward and has served the community through several terms of office for over 11 years. Tony has dedicated a lot of his time to being on the board of trustees and the chairman of Hope Springs recovery centre, which was a day centre for residents recovering from alcohol and drug addiction and the associated mental health issues.
Sharon Rogers will serve as Mayoress for this coming civic year. Sharon was born in Michigan in the USA before moving to Nottingham in the 1950s. She followed a career in nursing, specialising in paediatric nursing and children's intensive care, eventually becoming a Senior Sister. At the age of 21, Sharon was the youngest doubly qualified sister in the UK.
In retirement she worked as Manager of the Hope Springs Recovery Centre where she also served as a Trustee until it closed in 2019. She is currently an active board member for The Volunteer Centre in Chesterfield.
Councillor Rogers and his wife replace Councillor Glenys Falconer and Councillor Keith Falconer, who served as mayor and consort for an extended term office due to the pandemic from October 2020 until April 2022.
www.chesterfield.gov.uk/home/latest-news/chesterfield-s-latest-mayor-set-to-be-sworn-in.aspx