REDVALES councillor John Smith will be officially sworn in as the new Mayor of Bury today (Wed May 15).
Friends, colleagues and dignitaries will pack into Bury Town Hall in what is a glittering annual occasion.
Coun Smith (60) will take over the chains-of-office from Prestwich councillor Paul Nesbit, who will become deputy mayor.
He was first elected to the council in 1990, and has notched up more than eight years of service.
With his accession, the Smith family is notching up a civic double seen only once before in the metropolitan borough's history.
Coun Smith's wife Stella, who will be his mayoress, is also a Labour councillor, for Unsworth. The only previous "first couple" who were both sitting councillors were Jacqui Adler, mayor in 1987/88, and her husband Monty.
Coun Smith, of Ainsworth Road, Bury is the council's spokesman on housing and serves on numerous committees.
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