Councillor Heather Cunsolo has been elected Mayor of the City of Port Phillip Council.
Cr Cunsolo (Gateway Ward) was elected at the St Kilda Town Hall last night with Cr Andrew Bond (Lake Ward) named as Deputy Mayor. Both will serve a 12-month term.
Elected to a four-year Council term in 2020, Mayor Cunsolo said she was excited to now lead Port Phillip.
“It’s an honour, privilege and huge responsibility to be the 15th mayor of this City,” she said.
Mayor Cunsolo, who has an architectural background and works in residential design, promised to bring her passion for good practical design to the role.
Advocating for the transformation of the Station Pier freight yards and progressing the proposed Green Line linear park project in Balaclava are among the projects she hopes to advance over the next 12 months.
“I am coming to this role with a strong focus on community and as someone who listens before formulating my views,” the new Mayor said.
“There are plenty of challenges ahead of us. Working as a team, we can assure our community we have their best interests at heart in our decision-making.”
Cr Bond, who succeeds Cr Tim Baxter as Deputy Mayor, said he was sure Mayor Cunsolo would live up to the high standards set by previous mayors.
Cr Bond’s decade of service as a Port Phillip councillor was also recognised at the mayoral election meeting. He is the only councillor to have won three successive four-year terms on this council.
Outgoing Mayor, Marcus Pearl, told the meeting that serving the Port Phillip community as its Mayor had been one of the best opportunities of his life.
“I did my very best to make sure we put our best foot forward and with a united front,” he said.
Both Cr Pearl and Cr Baxter said the partnership achieved with the Victorian Government to save three ageing childcare centres and upgrade three more was one of the highlights achieved over the past year.
