Cllr Ray Gooding is the current Chairman of Essex County Council
Cllr Ray Gooding has been the County Councillor for the Stansted division since 2005. Previously, he has held the roles of Cabinet Member for Children and Families and Cabinet Member for Education and Skills at the council.
He has sat on several committees. These include chairing the People and Families Policy and Scrutiny Committee and Chairman of the Scrutiny Board.
He has also served on flood and coastal committees, adoption panels, education panels and several other outside bodies. He continues to serve as a trustee of the Active Essex Foundation.
Councillor Gooding is by profession a Mechanical Engineer. He was the Senior Partner in an Engineering Consultancy for more than 20 years. As a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers, he has played an active role in developing young engineers to achieve their full potential.
He also has a keen interest in encouraging participation in sport. As well as this, he is an advocate for the role of music and arts in supporting community wellbeing. These areas will be his focus during his term of office.