Dorchester chooses new Mayor - who's also the town crier!

Cllr Alistair Chisholm will take the chain of office next week

Author: Faye Tryhorn & Trevor Bevins - Local Democracy ReporterPublished 17th May 2023

Dorchester will have a new Mayor from next week - and it's a familiar face for the county town.

Councillor Alistair Chisholm will take the chain of office, doubling up with his role as the town crier too!

He says having two roles may at times lead to difficulty in selecting the right hat:

“I am assured this is not the first time a serving Town Crier has been appointed to the office of Mayor and I may, on occasions, have some difficulty choosing which hat to wear – the Mayor’s bicorn or the Crier’s tricorn."

Cllr Chisholm will take over the position from the current Mayor, Janet Hewitt, at a public ceremony in the Corn Exchange on Monday 22nd May.

He says he is honoured to have been elected as Mayor for the first time, although he was the Mayor’s consort 15 years ago for partner, Kate Hebditch.

Cllr Chisholm, an independent member on the Town Council said:

“My interest in and commitment to the town has been clear from my arrival in Dorset, as a 'blow-in', over 30 years ago. I still find it difficult to believe our compact town can have such a long and incredible story spanning thousands of years from the stone age to today and have so much physical evidence of that story.

“I believe a significant part of our future rests on making more of our story and am delighted the Town Council has now put heritage tourism and its clear economic benefits high on its agenda.

“As a generous and thoughtful community we must continue to ensure the provision of basic needs throughout the town and this includes social housing. At the same time we need to guard against those developments which, while making the rich richer, will do little or nothing to meet the pressing needs of today’s Dorchester."

Cllr Chisholm says he hopes his year will be marked by working together with other councils, businesses, voluntary and charitable organisations, service clubs, sports, social and cultural groups.

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