Tara Murray
Councillor Jasmine Nguyen has been elected as Brimbank’s youngest ever mayor.
Cr Nguyen, who was deputy mayor over the past year, will lead the council with Cr Thuy Dang named her deputy.
Three councillors, Cr Nguyen, Cr Virginia Tachos and Cr Sam David, were nominated for the position of mayor during last night’s mayoral election.
After the first round of voting, there was no majority, with Cr Nguyen receiving five votes, and Cr Tachos and Cr David receiving three each.
To eliminate one candidate, Cr Tachos and Cr David were to pick from a barrel, with one of the cards saying defeated and the other nothing.
Cr David selected first and picked out the defeated token, ruling him out of the election.
In the second vote, Cr Nguyen received seven votes to elect her mayor.
Cr David, Cr Trung Luu, Cr Jae Papalia, Cr Bruce Lancashire and Cr Ranka Rasic voted for Cr Nguyen, along with herself.
Cr Nguyen said it was an honour to be named the mayor of the city she had always called home.
“I stand here representing the entire Brimbank,” she said.
“I pledge I will put the community first. I am young, I am woman, I am of Vietnamese-Australian heritage and I represent substantial, social, cultural demographics of our municipality.
“As Brimbank’s first Vietnamese and youngest mayor I hope to set a precedent.
“This is a win for multicultural diverse Australia.”
Cr Nguyen said she was hoping to help Brimbank bounce back and see the west get the same infrastructure as the east.
“I am very proud to be leading the cåouncil and community as we respond and recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I want to deliver better outcomes for youth, more jobs, mental health support and create a sustainable and smart city.
“I want us to all work together to respond to the climate change emergency by protecting and enhancing our green spaces and getting to net zero by 2030.
“I will also work to deliver much needed infrastructure and services, and to advocate for investment on behalf of all our community in all wards.
“With the support of my councillors, we will work as a team to make Brimbank even better.
Cr Victoria Borg, Cr Dang and Cr Kerr were nominated for deputy mayor.
Cr Dang received six votes in the first round of voting to be elected deputy mayor.
Cr David, Cr Papalia, Cr Lancashire, Cr Rasic and Cr Nguyen voted for Cr Dang, along with herself.
Cr Dang said it was a great honour to be named deputy mayor.
“Twelve years living in Brimbank is not too long, but long enough to fall in love and dedicate my heart to the brimbank community,
“I can see that in 12 years, Brimbank has changed a lot. I’m looking forward to work with you madam mayor and all the councillors for a better stronger Brimbank.”
