The borough was governed by
Ards Borough Council (
Ulster-Scots: ''Burgh Cooncil o' the Airds, Newton an' Blathewick''). The borough was divided into four district electoral areas: Newtownards, Ards West, Ards East and
Ards Peninsula, from which 23 members were elected. As of February 2011 the following parties were represented on the council: 11
Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), 6
Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), 4
Alliance Party, and 1
Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), and there was 1
Independent councillor. The next election was due to take place in May 2009, but on 25 April 2008,
Shaun Woodward,
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland announced that the scheduled 2009 district council elections were to be postponed until the introduction of the eleven new councils in 2011. The proposed reforms were abandoned in 2010, and
district council elections took place in 2011 Mayor of Ards On creation in 1973 Ards District Council adopted the
charter of incorporation of the
municipal borough of Newtownards, to become Ards Borough Council. The charter also granted the chairman of the council the title "Mayor of Ards". 2013 Stephen McIlveen Democratic Unionist Party Source:
Freedom of Information request to Ards Borough Council ==Parliamentary and assembly representation==