Sawbridgeworth’s youngest ever mayor Salvatore Pagdades hopes role will help bridge gap between generations

If Salvatore Pagdades’ friends were a little perplexed when he decided to successfully run for election on to his local town council, taking the chains of mayor had them open-mouthed.

As Sawbridgeworth’s youngest ever first citizen at the age of 22, Salvatore believes he has a real opportunity to bridge the gap between generations.

“My friends were confused – but happy,” said Salvatore. “Being mayor seems such a big thing.

“[But] for me it is good show that young people want to get involved in the community.”

From a young age the grandson of immigrants showed his thoughtful side. After interviewing a Holocaust survivor with another student while at Leventhorpe School, Salvatore decided to get involved with The Holocaust Educational Trust in north London and has continued his volunteering role there.

His background has also shaped his attitude towards serving the community. Mother Angelina’s parents came from Sicily in the 1950s and his father Peter’s parents hail from Greece and Cyprus.

“It’s a sense of giving back to the community which was so welcoming to my family,” said Salvatore.

His love for Sawbridgeworth is undimmed and even after attending Southampton University to study politics, he was happy to return to his home town. The pull was strong as he attended Mandeville Primary in West Road and then Leventhorpe School, in Cambridge Road, so he has rarely wandered far from the town.

In his speech at the town council’s annual meeting on being elected mayor, besides celebrating the town’s spirit, of civic pride and coming together, Salvatore vowed to help bridge the gap between generations.

He said he wanted to bring “together the younger and older members of our town to share experiences and strengthen the ties that make Sawbridgeworth so special”. One way of doing that is by choosing The Hailey Centre for over 50s and 309 Squadron (Sawbridgeworth) air cadets as his chosen charities.

He also wants to engage with schools and get students out into the community, with the aim of creating student ambassadors.

He is looking forward to visiting the many groups and events during his year, but a highlight will be attending a visit in September by Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Vincent Nichols to St Elizabeth’s School in Perry Green.

Raising money for his chosen charities is also at the forefront of his mind and he is also looking forward to chairing town council committee meetings in his new role.

“I’m quite relaxed as all of our members are very professional and talented in their own backgrounds,” said Salvatore, whose full-time job is in community and stakeholder communications in London.

As for the future a wider role in local government would appeal, but knocking on the door of Westminster as an MP doesn’t figure in his thoughts.

“I really like working with our councillors and really like local government. One day I would like to serve Sawbridgeworth – probably in a unitary authority. I think you can make more of an impact,” added Salvatore who has two older sisters and two nieces and a nephew.

“At the end of the day our goal is to serve our residents and make Sawbridgeworth as good as it can be.”