COUNCIL group leaders have put party politics aside to honour three former councillors who dedicated a combined total of 125 years to serving their communities.
It was proposed to admit ex-Darlington council leader Bill Dixon as a honorary freeman of the borough and bestow the title of honorary alderman on former mayors David Lyonette and Tony Richmond, who all stepped down from the authority earlier this year having first been elected in the 1970s.
The titles are awarded to those who have who have “rendered eminent service” to the borough and the council, respectively.
Paying tribute to the three, Cllr Heather Scott said: "Our number one prime purpose is to serve the people who elected us.
"The fact that all three of them were elected time and again shows how much work they did."
Opposition leader Cllr Harker added: "It is remarkable the amount of years they have managed between them – there are tributes people on both sides would like to say to them."
It has been proposed to make Mr Dixon an honorary freeman – the highest civic honour that the council can give.
The former Eastbourne ward councillor would become the borough’s first honorary freeman since it was awarded to the late John Williams and Alisdair MacConachie in November 2011.
Mr Dixon was first elected as a councillor in 1979 aged 26 and served as Mayor of Darlington in 1999. He became deputy leader of the council in 1991 and served as leader of the council from 2011, focusing on economic growth, job creation and housebuilding.
Fellow former Labour member David Lyonette, who was first elected in 1973, served as the town’s mayor in 1992.
He led the council on regeneration and planning for two decades and has been credited with shaping a significant proportion of the borough’s built environment.
Former Conservative member Tony Richmond was first elected to the authority in 1976 and became leader of Darlington’s Conservatives in May 1988, a role which he held for almost 20 years.
The engineer served as the town’s Mayor in 1993 and stood against former Darlington Labour MP Alan Milburn in the 2001 General Election.
As he stepped down due to ill health earlier this year, Councillor Charles Johnson described him as “the perfect councillor”.
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