Second-term Greens councillor Jonathon Marsden has become Hobsons Bay mayor for the second time.
He was first elected to Strand ward in 2016 and previously served as mayor in 2018-19.
Cr Marsden replaced immediate past mayor Colleen Gates who did not contest the Hobsons Bay election but successfully ran for Campaspe Shire Council in the state’s north.
Cr Marsden is one of three incumbents re-elected along with independents Tony Briffa and Peter Hemphill.
“These past few months of the second lockdown have been pretty stressful for everyone in Victoria and the business of council was disrupted like everyone else’s,” Cr Marsden said.
“The previous council worked hard to deliver a COVID budget, including a number of support packages to address hardship and to underpin the recovery and, already, the new council have turned our mind to how we could continue that good work.
“There’s something like a 15 per cent downturn in unemployment, particularly in the retail sector, which was particularly hard hit along with other key sectors like entertainment and anyone who had a public-facing role – hospitality, pubs, business – where they’ve lost clientele and they’ve lost staff.”
Cr Marsden said another priority was continuing to work on Hobsons Bay’s “virtual energy network”, harnessing solar power to “provide low-cost, clean energy to households and retailers”.
First-term Independent councillor Daria Kellander, of Cherry Lake ward, was elected deputy mayor.
She is one of four new councillors along with Labor’s Matt Tyler and independents Diana Grima and Pamela Sutton-Legaud.
