Meet Your Councillor – David Harris

Name: David Harris 

Ward you represent: Westham North 

Any committee roles? Finance and Governance and Planning and Licensing

Tell us a little bit about yourself:

I have worked in Education all my life in various roles, focusing on trying to get the curriculum as relevant as possible. I am married with two grown-up children and two teenage grandchildren. We love walking and holidaying in Cornwall and both my wife and I enjoy gardening both flowers and vegetables. We both lead full and active lives. 

What motivated you to become a councillor?  

When my role as a headteacher came to an end because of the merger of the two secondary schools in Dorchester 3 years after we moved to Weymouth in the early 1990s, the family decided they wished to stay in Weymouth. This meant that I had a more nomadic working environment, so I decided to keep my community links alive by becoming a councillor in 1994 and have been one ever since with a year’s break through illness. 

What do you enjoy most about the role? 

It allows you to take an interest in a range of activities, both those which are Council responsibility and, through the networks created, supporting communities or individuals in many other areas. It has certainly occupied me with the community being extremely active with the Westham Community Group in the beginning and more recently with Southill activities. You do not win every battle but can influence enough not to get over frustrated. 

What’s the most frequent issue you deal with in your ward? 

The most complaints are in highways and traffic. Pot holes, roughness of pavements, speed of traffic and absence of buses and overgrown footpaths would feature quite often. 

Do you have any advice for anyone thinking about becoming a councillor? 

Please talk to a serving councillor, or two or three different councillors if you want to get a cross spectrum point of view. 

How can people contact you if they have an issue to raise?  

If you live in my ward you get a regular newsletter giving you contact details or you can easily contact me on my councillor email address. 

Contact me by visiting Weymouth Town Council’s website for more details. 

ENDS