AT least two of Mildura Council’s elected representatives, including Mayor Simon Clemence, have confirmed they will not seek a further term in office at this year’s local government elections.
Voters will go to the polls in October and candidates have until September 22 to nominate for a spot on the new-look council.
Cr Clemence this week confirmed his intention to stand down at the end at the end of this year’s term as mayor — a position he reluctantly took for a second time following a wave of support from council colleagues.
The former Victoria Police inspector was third elected at the 2016 poll and served just two years before he was elected to the city’s top civic duty.
Long-serving Underbool-based councillor Greg Brown has also confirmed this will be his final year having served four council terms.
Cr Brown was first elected to Mildura Rural City Council in 1997 following local government amalgamations and enjoyed strong support along the Mallee Track and in the Millewa.
He said he was “no chicken any more” and hoped other candidates from the southern sector of the electorate would put their hand up for this year’s vote.
Councillors Glenn Milne, Gavin Sedgmen and Helen Healy all confirmed they would be in the running for a further term, the latter two having been elected on countback after originally missing the 2016 cut.
Cr Sedgmen was elected in November 2018 following the death of Cr Max Thorburn, while Cr Healy joined council in January 2019 after Cr Ali Cupper’s election to State Parliament.
Anthony Cirillo, Mark Eckel and Jason Modica said they were still considering their future local government aspirations.
Deputy Mayor Min Poole could not be contacted.
Confirmation that councillors Clemence and Brown would not contest this year’s election will mean that, along with Cr Cupper (second elected) and Cr Thorburn (sixth elected), four of the first six councillors elected in 2016 will be missing this year.
In 2016, Cr Milne was first elected and Cr Poole came in fourth, followed by Crs Brown and Thorburn and current sitting councillors Eckel, Modica and Cirillo.
The next council general elections will be held by postal voting with ballot packs to be posted to voters in early October and due for return by 6pm on Friday, October 23.
Any resident 18 or over on election day, or ratepayers in the Mildura municipality, are eligible to vote, but must be correctly enrolled on the council voters’ roll by 4pm, on August 28.
Nominations for the 2020 council election close at noon on September 22.
What the councillors said
Mildura Mayor Simon Clemence:
“I promised my wife that I would only do four years, so I’m going to stick to that promise for her sake.”Deputy Mayor Min Poole:
Could not be contacted.
Greg Brown:
“It’s time for someone else.
“I’m no chicken any more, it’s time to move on … but I’d very much hope someone from the Millewa or the Mallee Track does stand to represent the bush people.
“I was there from day one after (former Victorian Premier Jeff) Kennett sacked them and started again … I’ve had four terms and I think that’s enough.”
Anthony Cirillo:
“Right at this point in time I’d love to go again, so my intention is to have another run.
“Over the next couple of months I’ll assess the workload given I’ve got a few other ventures.
“I feel like I know the process and know the procedures and know my way around a bit so I’d love to see it through for another term at least, so my intention would be to stand another term.
“Like anything, whether you want to admit it or not, in the first year you’re kind of a bit green and fresh.
“I don’t think that anyone on their first 12 months gets in and gets their hands overly dirty, but you’ve then got a platform at the start of a lot of things behind the scenes and there’s a few things that you need to see another term at least to see it through.
“I’m still weighing up my options but definitely would like to run again, time permitting.”
Mark Eckel:
“I haven’t ruled it out, but I haven’t decided as yet.
“Generally, and this is a plan I’ve used over many years, I have a look at who is standing to make sure there is a good cross-section of interesting people with a good collection of skills.”Helen Healy:
“Yes. I’m the most recent councillor, having only been on about a year and a half by the time we come to elections.
“I’ve really enjoyed the capacity to lobby and advocate on behalf of our region.
“I am very committed to whoever is on council being much more reflective of the diversity of our community, so I’m mentoring a number of people to try and get a little bit more diversity and gender equality at the council chamber.”
Glenn Milne:
“I’m going to stick my hand up again because there’s still unfinished business there.
“It’s another four years — I reckon I’d be giving it a good hard think at the end of that.
“I still think I’ve got something to offer — I’ve got experience, I’m certainly interested and entrenched in the problems around rail.
“I really want to see that railway line fixed — I want to see that finished, in particular because it’s vitally important to the future of this region, for those who want a passenger train, well they have got to get that line fixed before they can even go down that path.
“I’ve got some real concerns about the future of our sport right across the board because of the COVID hit.
“They have lost 12 months’ experience and for some of those kids they are at a critical stage of being good or very good.
“It can take a long time to catch up and some people can get disheartened and walk away, so it’s a huge impact.”
Jason Modica:
“I have really enjoyed representing the community — it has some really positive things come out of it and some other things are quite tough.
“I would like to do it but I just haven’t quite made up my mind yet. But it’s something that I think to do one term would probably let yourself down.
“The dynamic change in COVID and the pressure it puts on rural areas. Councillors are very much part-time unless you’re the mayor and just balancing out your work life, your want to serve as a councillor and your family is quite difficult, so that weighs on it as well.
“You want good people to be able to stand up and ask big questions and thrash out those ideas and try to work out what may be the best way to resolve some of the issues that have popped up because of COVID and the larger issues of being a very remote regional Victorian council.”
Gavin Sedgmen:
“I’ve only had a short stint and it’s been an incredible learning curve but my platform of transparency and accountability still remains the same.
“We still need to be going down those paths and also ensure that council is getting the best value for its money.
“I do intend to stand because this period has been able to give me an opportunity to learn some of the ins and outs of local government and now we should be able to expand on that and hopefully, with the small amount of experience that I’ve gained, portray the views of ratepayers.
“You always need to have a good mix of old and new — you’ve got to have new heads there to bring new ideas to the table and new perspectives.”
