Episode
A chat with Cllr George Rusiecki - Our new Mayor of Broadstairs & St Peters
- Published
- Aug 16, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3089
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- https://rss.com/podcasts/broadstairs-life/2985559
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Summary
Born in Wales, my first connection to Thanet was when I was posted to RAF Manston in 1979. I worked there in air traffic control for the next three years during which time I met a local girl – now my Mayoress, Sarah Kemp. Over the next twenty years we bought our first house together in Wardour Close, Broadstairs, got married and had three children. I split my time between the family in Broadstairs and West Drayton, Heathrow and lastly Southampton where I worked for the CAA at the Air Traffic Control Centre. When the opportunity arose to work at Manston again I jumped at the chance to base myself fully in Thanet and I worked at the airport until it closed in 2014. During this time I also bought the café on the beach at the bottom of Harbour Street which I ran alongside and then after my CAA work until 2016. It was the sudden closure of Manston airport which got me into local politics – I was never politically ambitious until this time. In August 2016 I won the by-election for the Northwood Ward in Ramsgate and became a Thanet District Councillor. At the following local elections in May 2019 I became both a Ramsgate Town Councillor and a Thanet District Councillor, but it was always my aim to represent Broadstairs. In 2023 I was elected to represent Bradstowe ward in Broadstairs for both the Town and District Councils. I was delighted to serve as Deputy Mayor for the Town Council during the Civic Year 2025-26 and I am honoured to be able to represent the Town as Mayor for the current year. Unlike County and District Councils which can be remote because they deal with such large numbers of people, Local Councils are placed within our communities. Local Councillors are vital to our community as they meet and talk to the people they represent every day in shops, pubs, at wo…