By Rachel Charman
The annual Youth Mayor elections have started, as candidates Alex Bright (left) and Adam Connolly (right) compete for the role.
Young people aged 13-19 are eligible to vote in the elections, and the election closes on 29th January.
The election results will be announced at the Youth Council meeting on Wednesday 3rd February, by Mayor Brian Smith and Mayoress Lyn Smith. Young people from all over Southend are invited to attend the event at the Civic Centre from 5pm to 7pm.
In last year’s election, 4,444 young people voted, constituting 38.2 per cent of Southend’s 13-19 year old residents.
Southend-on-Sea Borough Council’s Executive Councillor for Children and Learning, Councillor Roger Hadley said:
“We are very proud of our dynamic Youth Council in Southend, which is a real credit to the town.
“We hope these Youth Mayoral elections will continue to be as well supported as they were last year.
“All Secondary schools in the Borough have been invited to take part.”
There are three options open to voters. Voters can cast their ballot either via ballot boxes in selected schools and Connexions Youth Centres; via text message, by sending the name of their preferred candidate, and the voter’s name and date of birth to 07563 112996; or via email, by sending the name of the candidate, date of birth and name of the voter to youthmayor@southend.gov.uk.
Councilbust.com will interview both candidates for a free downloadable podcast during the election. To be notified when the podcast goes live, sign up to our email alerts by clicking the “Sign Me Up!” box at the top left hand side of this page. Or, you could follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/councilbust or our fan page on Facebook.
