It is with great sadness that we learned our treasured colleague and friend, Councillor Jolanta Lis, passed away suddenly on Friday, 13 April.
Jolanta was elected a Bicester Town Councillor for Central Ward in 2011. She considered it a huge honour to represent the Town as its Mayor in 2016/17, a role she fulfilled with unequivocal enthusiasm.
In 2016, Jolanta was elected to Cherwell District Council. Even in this short time, she made a big impact. She was chosen to be the Vice Chairman of the Council in 2017/18, with a view to becoming Chairman in 2018/19, a role she will sadly not now fulfil, but one we know she would have excelled at.
She was instrumental in the campaigning for the £6.7 million investment that will realign Howes Lane and consistently spoke up for the preservation of Bicester’s open green spaces. She worked tirelessly to make a positive difference to the lives of those she was elected to represent and was dedicated to serving Bicester not just as a Councillor but also through local community organisations. She was a Rotarian, an active member of St. Edburgs Church, a Governor at Bardwell School and the Polish liaison for the Bicester Twinning Association. Her contribution across the community will be sorely missed.
Bicester Conservatives and the whole of North Oxfordshire Conservative Association are deeply shocked at this news. The Conservative group has lost a generous and warm-hearted colleague. For those Councillors who, like her, joined Cherwell District Council for the first time in 2016, she was a constant source of support. Her unrelenting positivity and commitment were infectious and something that we all aspire to emulate.
We will miss her dearly and send her family all over the world our most sincere condolences.
As a mark of respect, Banbury and Bicester Conservatives suspended coordinated campaign activity on Saturday. The election for Bicester West Ward on May 3 is now postponed. The Council will issue further details in due course.