Limavady DUP Councillor Steven Callaghan has been elected mayor of Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council.
The decision was made at the council’s annual meeting on Tuesday, May 30. Cllr Callaghan will serve as first citizen until June 2024.
The Glens SDLP Councillor Margaret-Anne McKillop was elected deputy mayor at the meeting.
Cllr Callaghan said he was “humbled” to be chosen to represent the council as mayor. He said he has lived in Limavady since 1969 and it is “a great honour to represent the town as mayor”.
He added: “I know if my parents were alive today they’d be very proud of me.”
Supporting carers, those with mental health issues and the vulnerable are among Cllr Callaghan’s key priorities. He pledged to “do [his] best to represent the interests of constituents”.
Cllr McKillop said she was “surprised and delighted” to be elected deputy mayor. She said: “It is an honour and privilege to be the first Glens deputy mayor.”
Cllr McKillop added she looks forward “to working alongside the mayor for the entire borough”.
The annual meeting was the first meeting held since the local elections took place on Thursday, May 18. A total of 13 DUP and 12 Sinn Fein councillors were elected to Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council.
The next largest party is Alliance with five councillors, followed by the UUP and SDLP with four and three councillors respectively. The TUV has two councillors and the PUP has one.
