By Ethan Benedicto
The City of Casey has welcomed its new Mayor and Deputy Mayor after official announcements on Tuesday 19 November.
Following a special council meeting at 4pm in Bunjil Place, Waratah Ward’s Stefan Koomen has been elected as Casey’s mayor, with Kalora Ward’s Melinda Ambros as the deputy mayor.
Though labelled as a special meeting, this was also the first time all councillors – save Anthony Walter – officially gathered with a public audience, with the affair also attended by members of the local community and former candidates such as Jane Foreman and Gary Page.
Koomen, who was moved to tears after he was unanimously voted in as the mayor, said that exalted to be the first mayor in over eight years.
Addressing the meeting, he said that he was “absolutely delighted to be here as a councillor, along with my fellow councillors, and secondly as a mayor”.
“I’m genuinely taken aback, thinking on when I first started knocking on doors earlier this year in Doveton – to think that right now I’m a councillor, let alone mayor was not something that crossed my mind.
“I came into this role with a real desire to serve our community and I’m happy to be here.”
While he was moved to tears after thanking his mum, wife, kids, fellow councillors and everyone else who had shown support for him, Koomen also added “I don’t think we could have wished for a better group of people”.
“It’s often said that the voters don’t it wrong and they didn’t this time, and I think we’ve got a real collection of different experiences and different backgrounds.
“An exemplary group, that based on the last week we’ve been together, can really work together to serve the people of Casey.”
Koomen said that the first thing as mayor he aimed to do was build a culture of good governance and trust from the residents, acknowledging that the councillors themselves are also residents, “we want the people to know that we’ve experienced and we’ve felt the difficulties of the last five years”.
“We were shocked about what happened and we have to be upfront about that, and I think our job is to bring back that trust and we’re ready to do that,” he said.
A true sense of pride and honour also graced Ambros, who, after also being unanimously elected as deputy mayor, was taking in her full capabilities of representing the people on important levels of local government.
“To be standing here as deputy mayor, I know I couldn’t have been here without my fellow councillors and I’m grateful for their support and trust in me,” she said.
“But also I couldn’t have been here without the voters, the residents, my family, husband and children – and I’m looking forward to supporting the whole City of Casey and moving in the right direction.”
Working towards Ambros’ vision of a stalwart deputy mayor, she said that it is important to “identify that we have support around us”.
“To utilise that support that we do get from the council and also from my fellow councillors and the community, that is the best way to, in turn, support me and help me do my job.
“It’s also knowing about the fact that I am human, and I have limits, but I did take on this responsibility and I will do it to the best of my ability.
“I can’t do it alone, I have to do it with the people around me,” she said.
After a round of photos and prior to departing for the election of mayor dinner, Koomen added that while he was not expecting to be taking the seat, “democracy is back”.
“The representatives are back and we are ready to help, ready to make decisions on behalf of the community.
“This [mayor] is a full-time role, it needs absolute commitment and I’m ready to give that so from tomorrow I’ll be straight into it.
“I would say I’ve got a lot of experience working in government and across different councils so I think I’ve got the ability to hopefully lead a team and bring together this new group and make sure we get the governance right and make decisions in the best interest of the community.”
As for the first step, Koomen is adamant that all councillors being on the same page is integral before making any big decisions, emphasising that a “strong team” is needed to cater to the city’s needs.
Quarters Ward’s Carolyn Eaves and River Gum Ward’s Lynette Pereira have also been elected to be part of the council’s audit and risk committee who are scheduled to have their induction for the role early in December.
While the councillors finalise their last steps of introduction, the first general council meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday 10 December.
