By Alesha Capone
Cr Josh Gilligan has been voted in as Wyndham’s new mayor for the next 12 months.
Cr Gilligan, 26, who represents the Chaffey ward, was elected at a council meeting last week, after being nominated for the position by Cr Heather Marcus.
Seven councillors voted in favour of Cr Gilligan to become mayor, including outgoing mayor Cr Mia Shaw.
Cr Henry Barlow was also nominated for the mayoral position by Cr Kim McAliney, but he only received four votes.
Cr Barlow has previously served as mayor three times, while Cr Gilligan has never been mayor.
Cr Gilligan, who was elected to council in 2016, is a serving board member of the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV), the Wyndham Community Grants Program Evaluation Panel and the Wyndham Youth Council. As well, he chairs the council’s Gambling Reference Advocacy group.
Cr Gilligan also works at the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) .
After donning Wyndham’s mayoral robes at last Wednesday’s council meeting, Cr Gilligan said that he was “incredibly honoured and humbled” to become mayor.
Cr Gilligan said that as Wyndham’s population was on track to reach 500,000 people by 2041, the municipality’s biggest challenge would be “building a sustainable city” including trackless trams and an integrated cycling and pedestrian network.
“We will never accept the notion that we will become just another city of housing,” he said.
“We need to protect our knowledge economy and the agricultural parts of our city, like Werribee South, and strengthen our focus on urban amenity.”
Cr John Gibbons – another Chaffey Ward councillor – was re-elected as Wyndham’s deputy mayor.
Although Cr Tony Hooper nominated Cr Peter Maynard for the deputy mayor position, Cr Gibbons won the vote.
Cr Gibbons was first elected to the council in 1979, and served as mayor of the Shire of Werribee for two terms from 1983 to 1985 and as mayor of the City of Werribee during 1992 and 1993.
Cr Gibbons is a foundation member of Victoria University and received an Order of Australia Medal, for services to the community and education, in 2004.
