WALTHAM Forest's first openly gay mayor has hailed his appointment as a milestone in the borough's history.
Mayor Richard Sweden was unanimously chosen by his colleagues and has vowed to use his role to unite the community.
He said: "It's a milestone for Waltham Forest to finally have appointed an openly gay mayor.
"It's an important marker to lay down but I'm the mayor for everybody, not just the LGBT community," he said.
A report in 2010 found that one in three gay people in the borough had been verbally abused about their sexuality and many felt intimidated.
But Cllr Sweden believes the situation had improved since for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) members of the community.
"We live in a diverse part of London and attitudes do vary," he admits.
"But I think we could advance the interests of the LGBT community more but we must do it in such a way that members of other communities don't feel it's an imposition of western values on their own way of life.
"Because I can have no bias, I am the mayor for everybody - hopefully that can be a uniting influence and a great strength," he added.
In a hectic first two weeks, Cllr Sweden has welcomed the Archbishop of Canterbury to the borough and visited around 40 Jubilee street parties.
And the Wood Street councillor has vowed to swap his chauffeur-driven mayoral car for his trusted bike to travel to as many events as possible.
"It gives a good message to people," he said. "I'm even considering getting a tandem bike for me and my chauffeur. I've had an absolutely wonderful time so far and I'm sure that will continue."
Cllr Sweden was a professional singer until 2001, when he became a social worker.
"It was incredibly enjoyable and so I still do sing for fun, but in the end it worked out well because it freed up the time to run for office and represent people, which is what I love doing," he said.
His chosen charity is the Leyton Orient Community Sports Programme, which engages with young people in deprived areas through sports.
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