About the current Mayor

Councillor Lynne Foster moved to Chelmsford in 1976 following her marriage to husband Mick. Her husband’s career led them to enjoy time living abroad in both Barbados and Bangladesh in the 1970s and 80s. They have two children and three grandchildren.

The new Mayor built herself a successful a career in social housing, progressing from managing hostels for vulnerable people to becoming a director at CHP. She has extensive leadership experience across housing services and is a trustee of local almshouses. Her housing career and experience assisting the vulnerable is her reasoning for her choice of Mayoral charity.

She became Cabinet Member for Fairer Chelmsford in 2023 (covering housing, homelessness and property) and Deputy Leader of the Council in July 2024.

A long-time member of Chelmsford Theatre Workshop in Springfield Road, Councillor Foster has acted in and directed numerous productions, including comedies and Shakespeare. She is also a keen cyclist and values Chelmsford as a great place to live.

Deputy Mayor

Councillor Julia Frascona was born over the county border in Hatfield and subsequently lived in Gosport, Cyprus, Bristol, Epsom, Brighton and Cardiff, where she graduated in English Literature.

She very much enjoyed teaching English in secondary schools for her whole career, moving to Chelmsford in 1987 and spending the last 27 years at Boswells School, where she was head of Library and Information Studies, job sharing with Amanda Wilson, her chosen Deputy Mayoress.

She was elected to the City Council in 2019 and again in 2023 and has been a member of the Planning and Licensing Committees throughout. She was also a Governor at Trinity Road School for four years and a Trustee for Chelmsford Culture Trust, where she helped to grow this organisation from small beginnings to a strong voice for culture at all levels in Chelmsford.

In addition, Councillor Frascona is a Trustee for Chelmsford Educational Foundation, which gives grants to local students of all ages.

She volunteers for English for Women, a charity which teaches English to ladies from all over the world for whom English is a second language and helps them to feel part of our community.

Councillor Frascona has two daughters, two grandchildren and another grandchild on the way. She is very much looking forward to her role as Deputy Mayor, learning more about the city and meeting the people who help make it such a vibrant place.

Mayor's charity 

The Mayor has chosen Springfield Furniture Bank as the mayoral charity for 2026–27. This small but impactful charity helps people rebuild their lives when they have very little. The Mayoral events and activities held throughout the year will raise funds in support of this work.