Cade Lucas
After less than a week on council, West Footscray’s Pradeep Tiwari is now Maribyrnong mayor.
The new Bluestone ward representative was elected mayor for the next 12 months at Maribyrnong council’s first post-election meeting on Tuesday night.
Labor-aligned Cr Tiwari won the top job by defeating the Greens Bernadette Thomas by four votes to three.
Cr Thomas, one of just two members of the previous council to be re-elected, was elected deputy mayor unopposed.
Cr Tiwari was nominated for mayor by his immediate predecessor, councillor Cuc Lam who then voted for him along with his fellow first time councillors Mohamed Semra and Susan Yengi.
Cr Thomas was nominated by fellow Greens councillor Samanthan Meredith who then voted for her along with the Greens third councillor, Elena Pereyra.
Speaking after his election, Cr Tiwari reflected on his rapid rise from candidate to councillor to now being mayor.
“It has been a good journey,” he said.
“It’s been hectic, it’s been tedious, but here I am being voted in by the people and my fellow councillors, so I appreciate their support and there’s lots of work ahead.”
Cr Tiwari said he was surprised at the level of support he received in the mayoral election, but denied a deal had been struck with other Labor-aligned councillors.
He said improving community consultation and engagement would be his initial focus.
“I nominated myself to try and be a voice for the community within council and show the community that they can have confidence in our consultation process and our engagement process and that is my top priority.”
Indian-born Cr Tiwari is the first Maribyrnong mayor of Indian heritage and said he was proud to lead a council that reflected the diversity of the local community.
“I got elected into probably the most multicultural council that I’ve known in 40 years living in Maribyrnong and West Footscray,” he said.
The November 19 meeting to elect the new mayor and deputy mayor was the first time Maribyrnong council had met at Footscray Town Hall in two years, with extensive renovations to the 90-year-old building recently completed.
Former Maribyrnong and Footscray mayors, Dr Michael Clarke, Catherine Cumming and Fred Maddern were in attendance, as were the new council’s seven members, with new Wattle ward representative, Cr Pereyra, attending virtually via video link from Argentina.
