Corangamite Shire Central Ward Councillor Ruth Gstrein was last night elected to her sixth mayoral term.
Cr Ruth Gstrein was first elected to Corangamite Shire Council in 2002 and served as Mayor between 2007-2009, and then again from 2020.
At their November meeting in Camperdown, Councillors also re-elected one of her fellow Central Ward Councillors, Geraldine Conheady, as Deputy Mayor.
Both were elected unopposed for a one-year term.
The Mayor thanked her fellow councillors for re-electing her to the position.
“It is a position that I am incredibly privileged to hold,” she said.
“I feel very humbled by your trust in me carrying out this role for a further 12 months. It’s certainly going to be a busy year ahead.
“We’ve seen the significant capital works projects that need to be delivered, as well as the valued services that support our communities.
“We’re looking at completing—hopefully, fingers crossed—the Timboon to Port Campbell Twelve Apostles Trail and the Port Campbell Town Centre project.
“This afternoon Council were briefed on preparedness for the coming few months on emergency management. We’re talking about floods and were talking about fires. It seems quite incredible at this time of the year that we’re still talking about flooding.
“There will be a great deal of advocacy to continue with the new Government in Canberra and after Saturday a new Government in Victoria.
“We’ll be advocating very strongly about our road network; particularly our state road network.
“We’re looking for funding for the dairy supply chain. We know just how important that is for our agricultural sector.
“Advocating for improvements to NBN and mobile black spots We have had some success in the last few years, particularly around Ecklin, Scotts Creek and Noorat so we’ll continue that as well as the Camperdown Production Precinct which is a major project north of Camperdown that were seeking around $30 million to develop that industrial site.
“We have a great team at Corangamite. We bring a range of diverse interests to the table. There is always lively discussion but it’s always done with the utmost respect.
“I’m certainly looking forward to working with my fellow Councillors, with CEO Andrew Mason, the Senior officers team and the very dedicated staff we have here at Corangamite Shire.”
Cr Conheady has previously served one term as Deputy Mayor.
Cr Conheady said she was grateful for the opportunity to serve a further 12 months in the role.
“I’m really pleased to have the support of the other Councillors in the role of Deputy Mayor and I look forward to being able to support the Mayor in her duties.
“We have a great Council team and organisation and I know we will work well together to meet the challenges over the next 12 months.”
