Esther Lauaki
Civic-minded residents are being urged to stand for Wyndham council, with elections just around the corner.
Wyndham chief executive Kelly Grigsby has backed the Municipal Association of Victoria’s call for residents interested in achieving the best outcomes for the community to put their hat in the ring.
Wyndham residents have until September 22 to nominate themselves as a candidate for the council elections on October 24.
“Becoming a councillor is a great opportunity to influence the future direction of the municipality and most people on Wyndham’s electoral role are eligible to stand for council,” Ms Grigsby said.
“Councillors have a demanding but rewarding role in our community – they represent the community at a local government level and see some fantastic initiatives develop from ideas to short, medium, and long-term plans.”
Ms Grigsby said councillors were strong conduits between council and the community and would help on the road to recovery following the economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
She said that achieving gender equality in local government was not just an important step towards improving the lives of Victorian women but was “critical for an inclusive, diverse, and cohesive community”.
“Our councillors should reflect the demographics and diversity of our city, so we encourage people from every cultural and professional background to come forward,” Ms Grigsby said.
“Councils across the state are finding an underrepresentation of female councillors, so with 50 per cent of the population being female, we would love to see that reflected in our council chambers. As it stands Victoria’s percentage of female councillors is only 38 per cent.”
Potential candidates must undertake mandatory candidate training sessions run by the state government.
The sessions provide prospective candidates with information about the electoral process, local government and the role of a councillor.
Information: www.standforcouncil.com.au or www.wyndham.vic.gov.au/generalelection2020
