Cynthia Alcantara Barker made history as the first-ever elected as the first Philippine-born official to hold the prestigious post in England. She has been appointed Mayor of Hertsmere in Hertfordshire.
“Ang aking pagkakaupo bilang isang mayor dito sa UK ay katunayan na tinatanggap at kinikilala ang mga Pilipino sa bansang Inglatera,” said Barker.
Despite living for a long time in England, Mayor Cynthia was born and grew up with her family in San Pablo City, Laguna, but her mother was an OFW in the UK.
This is indeed making her fellow Pinoys proud of what she has become. Besides being mayor, Barker also became the first Filipino to be elected as Councillor and Deputy Mayor in the United Kingdom in 2019.
Mayor Rabbi Alan Plancey, the former mayor, commended Cynthia Barker as an excellent Deputy Mayor with her goal of serving the community well in her new role.
Mayor Cynthia graduated from Adamson University in Manila with a degree in Industrial Engineering before moving to the UK to be with her mother.
Before being appointed as mayor and gone viral, she also had exemplary performance and service as the overseer of the Elstree and Borehamwood Film Studios in Hertfordshire. The studios are a British version of Hollywood.
“I always visit Elstree and Borehamwood Studios as much as I could to see what’s happening there from a day-to-day basis. I am exercising my responsibilities over the studios as councilor,” she explained.
According to Barker, during her year as mayor, she will prioritize raising money for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, the leading UK charity preventing child abuse and helping those affected.
It is almost 29 that Barker lived in Hertsmere, and within this period, she has been an active servant for the welfare of her community. Some of her previous roles include improving the well-being of residents’ lives as councilors, council representative for the Youth Council, helping the Operations Review, Audit and Member Training and Development Group, and many more.