By Alesha Capone
A record seven women will serve on the new Wyndham council, which saw a close-run finish in the Chaffey ward.
The municipality’s 11 councillors – elected from a field of 86 candidates – were announced by the Victorian Electoral Commission on Monday.
Harrison ward will have four female councillors: Susan McIntyre, Sahana Ramesh, Jasmine Hill and Adele Hegedich.
First-time councillor Ms Ramesh said that the council would need to establish a strong team to work together “harmoniously” during the pandemic.
“Our new council is inheriting a large deficit, and the challenge of balancing the city’s economic health with that of our community’s health and our economy’s health,” she said.
Ms McIntyre, also a first-time councillor, said she was keen to “hit the ground running” in response to COVID-19, especially in regards to local jobs and mental health.
She said establishing “20-minute neighbourhoods” in Wyndham, where people can “live, work and play”, was also important.
Incumbent councillor Josh Gilligan has been returned to office in Chaffey ward, while the other successful candidates are Jennie Barrera, Marcel Mahfoud and Robert Szatkowski.
The final result in the Chaffey ward was close, with just three votes separating Mr Szatkowski and Shannon McGuire, after all the votes were counted and preferences distributed.
After a recount on Friday, Mr Szatkowski emerged as the winner by six votes (with a total of 7692 votes to Mr McGuire’s 7686 votes).
Mr Szatkowski said it was “a big honour” to be elected.
“I really want Wyndham residents to be proud of where they live and every decision I make will be based on that,” he said.
Peter Maynard, Mia Shaw and Heather Marcus have all been re-elected in Iramoo ward.
Ms Shaw said she would work hard on issues such as services, infrastructure, parking, traffic, parks and open spaces during the upcoming term.
Mr Maynard said: “I look forward to working with all the councillors for the next four years, so we can get the best outcome for the people of the city, whatever that may be.”
The new councillors will be sworn in next Monday.
