Proposing Cllr Anne Purse as Council Vice Chairman for 2008/9

Speech by Cllr Zoe Patrick delivered to County Council on Tue 1st Apr 2008

I should like to propose Cllr Anne Purse to be Vice Chairman of the Council.

Anne has lived in Oxfordshire for nearly 40 years, first living in Witney, then in Oxford and has had links with the County Council for almost all of that time. She has had 4 daughters all educated in Oxfordshire's schools and has actually had 31 years of going to parents evenings with those mixed feelings of pride, hope and dread. Also having worked for the NHS as a speech and language therapist visiting schools and working in Special Schools including the Chinnor Units, and working with adults with disabilities, it has meant that Cllr. Purse has been in contact with many aspects of this Council's work.

Cllr Purse was elected to represent Wheatley in 1993 and has always seen it as a great privilege to be councillor during the old committee system. However, she also enjoyed four years spent on the Executive during the joint administration in the Sustainable Development role, and she has during the present system continued this role as Shadow Cabinet member. She is actually one of the longest serving Councillors and will welcome the opportunity of being an ambassador when called to do so.

Cllr Purse will bring a great deal of experience and empathy to this Council and I believe she will have an important role to play. As a mother and a grandmother who enjoys her family life as well as those of her cats and dogs, she told me that for the first time in her life last summer, she was forced to ride a horse for the best part of a day across the desert in the Colombian Andes. Her previous experience had only been a few rides on seaside donkeys so he had been terrified. But she did it and enjoyed it and she has assured me that if she ever does get the chance to pick up the reins from the Chairman when necessary despite her lack of experience - she will be determined to do it and certainly enjoy it.