ONE thing you could never accuse Maribyrnong councillor Sarah Carter of is “hiding her light under a bushel”, as the saying goes.
Aged 28, at the 2008 elections, she put her hand up for a seat on Maribyrnong Council .
She polled 30 per cent of first preference votes – 1423 – and pipped Sara Coward at the post after distribution of preferences.
“I was never shy. I was always passionate about my work and I realised I should run,” she said. “I never anticipated how much I would get out of it.”
Cr Carter said she was “in the dark” when it came to knowledge of the electoral system and politics.
She ran as an independent then joined the Labor party after she’d won her seat.
Was she a touch naive then, going into local politics with little knowledge of the political horse-trading that goes on?
“No, if I didn’t know what I wanted to bring then I wouldn’t be showing integrity.
“But preferences and that sort of thing, the politics, they’re the details.
“You’ve got four years to be on council representing the community, and that’s something I was very well prepared for.”
Cr Carter said a lack of knowledge about how local government works might hold women back.
“Some may hesitate and feel they need more knowledge or should be doing more, whereas men may be more inclined to put their hand up straight away.
“It may also be a time thing. Women are often primary carers, and trying to balance running a household and working puts them off.”
Across Victoria, women make up only 29 per cent of councillors.
To encourage more women to nominate for local government elections this year, the Victorian Local Governance Association has a Think Women Local Government 2012 forum at Hobsons Bay Civic Centre in Altona next Thursday.
Lynne Kosky, a former Footscray mayor and Altona MP for 14 years, will be a guest speaker.
“It’s a great opportunity to make change; noone should underestimate that,” Cr Carter said.
Hobsons Bay councillor Luba Grigorovitch said it was a similar forum in 2007 that encouraged her to run for council in 2008.
“In my opinion, equity is the best way of serving our community.
“Women bring their perspectives, and generally we see ourselves as a voice on behalf of other women.
“It’s imperative that women hold positions of higher office – as a councillor, member of parliament or sitting on a board in the corporate world,” Cr Grigorovitch said.
“On a federal level, women constitute 52per cent of the vote so it stands to reason that women need to have equity at councillor level.”
Forum details: 99321000.
