BARNSLEY’S 154th mayor John Clarke says he’s had an incredible year in post - and he’s offered some advice to his successor...
The mayor is a ceremonial post held by a member of the council and elected annually.
Last May, Coun John Clarke began his term as mayor and has been supported by his wife, Doreen, for the last 12 months.
John was born in Malta as his dad was based there during his National Service, along with his mum, Irene, before returning back to the UK.
He attended Worsbrough High School, before starting work for the National Coal Board (NCB) in 1969.
He was elected union official for the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM).
During that time, he also attended Sheffield University to study economics and industrial relations as part of his role as a union official.
After the closure of the coal industry he retrained as an advanced driving instructor and ran his own business until retiring in 2015.
He was elected as a councillor in the Worsbrough ward in 2010 and has served the area well since then, and he will continue to do so until at least next year’s election.
John’s mayoral term came to an end this week, but he’s attended around 260 events in that time - including opening up new venues and even judging the Chronicle’s garden competition.
But what have been his highlights?
He told the Chronicle: “Everything has been fantastic.
“I’ve enjoyed meeting lots of young people.
“Seeing how respectful they’ve been towards us has been great.
“Our theme this year was kindness and respect - that’s been coming back at us.
“We’ve had a really good experience - I’ve got to find out lots of things about Barnsley that I didn’t know.”
Each year, the incoming mayor of Barnsley selects their mayoral charity or charities for the year which are always local to the town.
John chose two charities close to his heart - Age UK Barnsley and The Well.
They managed to raise a huge £26,489.56 in total, meaning both have received £13,244.78 each.
John said: “I am absolutely over the moon to have raised such a phenomenal amount of money to help my chosen charities, both of which mean a lot to me.
“To be able to hand over a cheque for over £13,000 to each of my chosen charities is such an honour.
“My fundraising efforts have been a real highlight of my year and a real joint effort between colleagues, partners, and residents.”
At today’s Full Council meeting, Coun Dave Leech of the St Helen’s ward will become the new mayor and his wife, Alison, will be the mayoress.
Have John and Doreen got any advice for their successors?
John said: “They’ll be fine - but they’ll be tired.
“Dave won’t have a problem - he’s been a councillor for a similar time as me.”
Doreen added: “Just enjoy it.
“I was really, really nervous.
“I thought ‘why me?’ so I had to give myself a talking to.
“But just enjoy it and it’ll be fine.”
