A biographical outline of the Deputy Lord Mayor 2013-2014
Deputy Lord Mayor Councillor Joanne Dodds
Councillor Joanne Dodds was born, at home, in East Bierley, near Bradford.
She became an elected Member for the Great Horton Ward in 2006 and has taken on many roles including those as Group Secretary, Assistant Whip and Deputy Chair of the Housing & non-Domestic Rates Appeals Panel.
She is also a member of the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority.
Councillor Dodds has a keen interest in community issues, with a particular interest in community safety.
She was educated at Whitcliffe Mount Comprehensive School and left school with CSEs, but returned to education when her children were young and built up her qualifications to GCSE level, followed by A Levels before going on to achieve a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) degree in Organisation Studies.
She is not currently employed but has previously worked as a community development worker, though she now concentrates on her role as a busy Ward Councillor. She has had jobs in the administration, accounts, HR and secretarial fields and was a Sunblest Bakeries merchandiser, based in Morrisons, for 10 years.
Councillor Dodds has been married to husband Robert since 1985. They have two sons: Joseph, 26, & Matthew, 24, and a new granddaughter, Emily Grace. Councillor Dodds came from a large family and has six brothers and one sister.
She attends the Cornerstone Church (ex-Great Horton Methodists) and she is a Trustee & a member of the church council.
Councillor Dodds has a great interest in her local community and is a Lidget Green Primary School Governor, Secretary of the Great Horton Partnership and also Vice-Chair of the Lidget Green Community Partnership.
The Firefighters Charity and Epilepsy Action are causes closest to her heart. She is also a Bradford ‘Street Angel’ volunteer in the city centre. She has thoroughly enjoyed her voluntary work with them over the last three years and it has given her a real insight into the plight of those who are homeless and also the effects of drinking too much alcohol and the dangers this can present.
In her spare time she enjoys swimming running and entering for races. She has twice completed both the Bradford and Leeds half marathons and hopes to run a full marathon before time catches up with her!
For leisure, Councillor Dodds also enjoys listening to music and her musical tastes range from rock music through to brass bands. She is an avid theatre goer and also loves walking in the countryside and, as a member of English Heritage, enjoys visiting stately homes.
On holiday, Councillor Dodds enjoys taking cruises and loves to wake up in a different port every day. Though she has learnt French in the past, she now ruefully admits that only a handful of words remain!
She is a vegetarian, and does not eat curries or spicy food. She prefers coffee to tea and also enjoys an occasional glass of beer, with real ale being a particular favourite.
Councillor Dodds loves fresh flowers, in particular stocks.
Mr Robert Dodds, Deputy Lord Mayor’s Consort
Councillor Dodds’ husband, Robert, was born in Bradford and educated at St Blaise Secondary School & Cardinal Hinsley Grammar School. He currently works at H C Slingsby in the warehouse driving fork-lift trucks. Robert has worked at Slingsbys for just over 15 years and prior to that he worked for Grattan for a twenty year period.
The couple attend the Cornerstone Methodist Church, where Mr Dodds is also a Trustee. He is a Cub Leader (Akela) at 34th Bradford South Scouts (Great Horton) for fourteen years and is also a member of the Great Horton Community partnership. He is a Bradford Bulls Fan and season ticket holder.
Though not a speaker of foreign languages, Mr Dodds also enjoys taking cruises with his wife and exploring foreign countries. At home, he too likes visiting stately homes and country houses, attending concerts and theatrical performances.
Mr Dodds also enjoys an occasional glass of beer, but does not eat chicken or turkey, nor does he drink tea or coffee.
