A passionate advocate for the arts and sport among his other interests, Cllr Buxton’s one-year tenure has fittingly coincided with the borough’s youngsters winning the London Youth Games (LYG) in consecutive years and Haringey’s successful bid to be crowned the London Borough of Culture (LBOC) in 2027.
There are then a fair few standout highlights and memories to reflect upon for the Crouch End ward Cllr in the days, weeks and months ahead, but an immediate priority is a timely and well-deserved break to recharge the batteries.
Haringey’s youngest-ever Mayor reflected:
It has been an absolute privilege. I’d never thought that I’d have this experience and I didn’t plan it, but it has been a really fantastic and incredible year.
I’m just thankful for the support that I’ve received from my other Cllrs and our fantastic community in Haringey, as well as the opportunity to meet so many of our residents over the course of the last 12 months.
He added:
In terms of highlights, I really need to sit down and reflect because it has been such a rollercoaster.
I showed in my Mayoral debate though that both sports and the arts are important to me. I’m really pleased then that – in my final week as Mayor – I invited in some of our young athletes who are going to try and win us a third London Youth Games in a row and also that I hosted a variety show showcasing some of the amazing talent that we have in Haringey - from dance and music to poetry and circus skills. That’s been a really nice way to round off my Mayoral year.
I’m now looking forward to getting a bit of a break and spending a bit more time with my partner Sascha and our dog Sephy. Booking a holiday is going to be my first priority.
Cllr Buxton believes he benefited from Cllr Adam Jogee’s two-year stint as the Mayor of Haringey between 2020 and 2022 as it helped to show that “even if you’re in your late 20s, you can still be Mayor,” along with serving as Cllr Gina Adamou’s deputy prior to taking on the role himself.
Cllr Buxton explained:
One of the key things was serving as Deputy Mayor as it gave me a lot of confidence. Serving under Cllr Adamou, I couldn’t have asked for a better mentor. Cllr Adamou is such an experienced Mayor and knows the ropes quite well.
She not only showed me how it’s done, but actually let me go out and do it myself so – by the time I was Mayor – I’d already done 30 to 40 engagements as Deputy Mayor and chaired a Full Council meeting.
Cllr Buxton also wished to place on record this sincere gratitude and thanks to his deputy Cllr Ajda Ovat and two more of his predecessors in Jennifer and the late Stephen Mann, whose unequivocal support encouraged him to follow in their footsteps.
He admitted:
I was nervous. I knew that it was going to be quite an intense year, but I was confident that I could execute the role of the Mayor the way that I wanted to do it and make it mine for that year.
