Representing my ward over the past four years and being mayor since last November has been an incredible privilege.
I’m grateful for the opportunity and, working together with our community, I’m so proud of what we’ve achieved throughout my mayoral term.
The first Pathways To Work expo at Grazeland in July was an inspiring day.
Too many young people struggle to get a start in the labour market.
The expo was all about giving young people the knowledge they need to take a step towards finding a job.
We had more than 800 people join us, including students from seven local schools, and the feedback about what people took out of it was so heartening.
Winter in Williamstown brought thousands of people to Nelson Place.
Throughout winter, when people might be less inclined to go out for dinner or catch up with friends for a drink, we wanted to activate Nelson Place to support traders and provide families with some affordable entertainment during school holidays.
It was amazing to see so many people enjoying the light projections, music and entertainment and, of course, the synthetic ice-skating rink, to which we sold more than 10,000 tickets.
This included many visitors that built on the experience Hobsons Bay bus tour, which ran tours twice weekly from January to April, and had more than 500 customers.
Against the backdrop of a challenging economy, we’ve also recently started the renew Williamstown project, which will bring creatives into empty shopfronts to attract more people to the area.
We’ve improved our customer service with the launch of My Hobsons Bay hub, a new portal that allows you to connect with council services online more easily.
We’ve also planted more than 40,000 trees to make Hobsons Bay greener for generations to come.
During this council term, my wife Sarah and I welcomed our little fella into the world, he’s now two years old.
As I consider the demands of my role as an executive director at a large not-for-profit together with a desire to spend more time with my family, I have decided not to seek re-election as your representative on Hobsons Bay council at the upcoming council elections.
I’ve loved working with so many passionate people who chip in to make our community a great place to live.
I wish the next council all the very best.
