Long-serving councillor set to become Lord Mayor

Cllr Paxton Hood-Williams succeeds Councillor Graham Thomas, to become Lord Mayor for 2024/25 and his deputy will be Cllr Wendy Fitzgerald.

Cllr Hood-Williams, who has been a ward member for Fairwood since 2004, will take up his post following inauguration in May after Full Council agreed the move at its meeting on March 21.

As Lord Mayor Cllr Hood-Williams will have an important civic and ceremonial role as the city's official ambassador. He will also be involved in raising money for local good causes.

Lord Mayor Cllr Paxton Hood-Williams represents the areas of Three Crosses, Upper Killay and Fairwood. He lives in Three Crosses.

Cllr Hood-Williams was born and brought up in Upper Killay and moved to Three Crosses on getting married. He has been a Three Crosses (since the mid 1980's) and Upper Killay (since the early 2000's) Community Councillor, and is passionate about serving the community.

Cllr Hood-Williams said:  "I am very grateful to my councillor colleagues for their support in nominating me as Lord Mayor. It is a huge honour and privilege to be serving the communities of Swansea as their Lord Mayor in the coming year."

"My wife Patricia and I are really looking forward to getting out and about and meeting the people of our fantastic city, as well as representing Swansea to visitors and as an ambassador, at a very exciting time, for our communities."

Cllr Hood-Williams has been a Swansea City fan since the 1950s and worked at the Margam steelworks site, before retiring as a senior manager in engineering services in 2004.

Since then he's maintained his extensive involvement in serving his community as chair of Three Crosses Community Council, a member of Upper Killay Community Council and governor at Crwys and Cila Primary Schools.

He said: "I'm inordinately proud of the achievements of the staff, teachers and pupils of both schools. We're so fortunate to live in one of the most beautiful areas of Wales which is just one of the reasons why I'm involved in a number of local organisations looking out for the interests of the Gower AONB."

Paxton and Patricia have a daughter Laura, and two granddaughters, Felicite, currently studying biology and marine biology and Gwenllian, currently studying aerospace engineering. Their family home is in Berkshire, where Laura's husband, Stephen, who is a world champion glider pilot, has his aeronautical business.