Shire president encourages younger community members to step up ahead of Local Government Elections

With nominations for local government elections opening early next month, Shire of Denmark president Ceinwen Gearon wants to see more young members nominate.

“I would strongly encourage people to consider running as a councillor. While challenging and time-consuming it is immensely satisfying,” she said.

“It is important that councillors are reflective of the community in which they live, so I am desperately keen to see more diverse representation particularly from younger members of our community.”

Six seats are set to be contested in October with nominations open from September 2-9.

Ms Gearon was first elected to local government as a councillor in 2015, before stepping into the role of president two years later after being nominated for the role by a fellow councillor.

She was returned as president in 2019 and is set to serve in the role until at least 2023.

Ms Gearon said it was her passion for community engagement that first interested her.

“I felt that I had something to offer to the role and the community, particularly my interest in good governance and comprehensive community engagement and collaboration,” she said.

“Local government is the closest layer of government to the community. That presents both challenges and opportunities.

“The greatest challenge is helping the community to realise its aspirations within the context of what the local government is able to deliver. The rewards are constant and numerous.

“The recognition of the community’s strong interest in sustainability with the introduction of the Shire’s sustainable events policy is something I am very proud of.

“It has been particularly pleasing to work with other community groups to reduce the use of plastics at community events as well as Shire events.”