Cllr Gareth Deboos elected as new mayor of Ringwood

Councillor Gareth Deboos has become the twelfth mayor of Ringwood, replacing Cllr Tony Ring who held the office for longer than anyone in the town’s history.

Representative for Ringwood South Cllr Deboos was elected at an annual council meeting on May 25 following a vote in which he edged Cllr Jeremy Heron by seven votes to six.

Before taking the chair, Cllr Deboos said Cllr Ring had been a “fantastic mayor” since 2018 and thanked him for everything he had done for the town.

Cllr Ring expressed his sincere thanks to councillors and officers for all the help and guidance they had given him during his term of office.

He also said he did not wish to be appointed to any committees at this time, as he would be focussing on family, social and business commitments and would be unavailable to attend meetings. However, he hoped to be in a position to do so in the future and would continue to do the best he could for his ward and attendance at full council meetings.

Former mayor of Ringwood Cllr Tony Ring and former deputy mayor Philip Day. Picture: Ringwood Town Council

There were then two candidates put forward for the position of deputy town mayor; the incumbent Cllr Philip Day and Cllr Rae Frederick.

Before a vote, Cllr Day announced as he had served as deputy mayor for nearly five years, he felt it was time to step aside.

Cllr Frederick was duly appointed as deputy town mayor for the ensuing year.