Mayor 'overwhelmed' to be elected for second term

The newly sworn-in mayor of Douglas says knowing he has the support of his fellow councillors to serve a second term is "just overwhelming".

Steven Crellin was formally re-elected at a special sitting of Douglas Council on Wednesday.

He said he had met some "absolutely fantastic people" while carrying out the ceremonial role during his first year in office and was looking forward to meeting more in the months ahead.

"I'd say it's probably one of the proudest moments of your life," Crellin said. "To have the councillors behind you is just overwhelming - to know they're there to support you."

Crellin said his journey into local politics was a long thought-out decision, but had to wait until work and the pressures of bringing up a family were easing.

"I spent 50 years in the same area where I grew up and I always wanted to get involved in politics," he explained. "But because of children and grandchildren you never ended up having the time to be able to do it.

"So I decided when I was getting close to retirement, I thought 'You know what - I'm going to have a go at this'."

Although Crellin initially became a councillor for the city's south ward in an uncontested election, knowing he had won the public's support to be on the council at the last local authority general election was "absolutely fantastic".

"It just means so much to me to be voted in by the people rather than just getting elected without any contest at all," he said.

Among the national events the mayor takes part in is the annual open-air sitting of Tynwald in St John's, which he said was a "really special moment".

"It's great to do it for the people of Douglas city, to be able to walk up to Tynwald Hill knowing the parliament's over 1,000 years old."

The term in office is accompanied by a year-long fundraising campaign for three island charities, with Little Piece of Hope which offers help bereaved parents, dementia support charity Forget Me Not, and the Great North Air Ambulance Service set to benefit.

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