Esther Lauaki
1011council
By Esther Lauaki
Six more women have been elected as part of Brimbank’s revamped council with five sitting councillors dumped.
Women make up the majority of the council, elected to eight of the i11 seats on council last weekend.
Former mayor Georgina Papafotiou has been ousted in Taylors ward, while Bruce Lancashire is returned with newcomers Maria Kerr and Ranka Rasic.
Grasslands ward newcomers Sarah Branton and Thuy Dang were elected, joining Victoria Borg who returned.
Sitting councillor Duyen Ahn Pham just missed out on re-election despite leading on first preference votes while Janev Aziz was defeated.
At just 23, Jasmine Nguyen is the youngest councillor elected in Brimbank, she will represent Harvester ward alongside returned councillor Sam David and new blood Trung Luu
They replaced deputy mayor Kim Thien Truong who was not re-elected while incumbent John Hedditch stood down from council due to health concerns.
Horseshoe Bend ward’s Virginia Tachos was returned, along with newly elected Jae Papalia who step in for outgoing Daniel Allan.
The 11 councillors-elect were voted in from a pool of 55 candidates.
Brimbank chief executive Helen Morrissey extended congratulations to the new councillors.
“It is both an honour and a tremendous responsibility to be voted to represent the best interests of a city of 208,000 people,” Ms Morrissey said.
“As Chief Executive Officer, it will be my pleasure to work with the new council this term, as supported by the executive management team, council attempts to both lead and represent the City of Brimbank in the best possible way.
“Together we can build a better Brimbank, a vibrant, harmonious and welcoming city that is a great place to live, work and grow – a Brimbank that is transforming to become the powerhouse of Melbourne’s west.”
The councillors-elect will be officially sworn in on Tuesday (November 10) at 4.30pm and the mayoral election will be held next Tuesday at 7pm. Both meetings will be live-streamed.
