By Ruza Zivkusic
JUSTIN Mammarella is the new mayor of Melton Shire Council.
The councillor of two years was sworn in as mayor last Wednesday after being nominated by former mayor Chris Papas. He faced no challenges for the hot seat from the other councillors.
The 30-year-old father of two has promised new changes for the shire and to usher in a new era of close communication between the council and the residents.
Before councillors, state members of Parliament, residents and his family at the Civic Centre, Cr Mammarella outlined his top priorities for the next year saying he was looking forward to working closely with federal parliamentarians to ensure Melton Shire received “a fair share of the government funding pie”.
“We will not be satisfied with the crumbs that fall off the table,” Cr Mammarella said in his speech.
“I give you advance notice that you, the local MPs, will all be sick of me by the time my term finishes,” he told long-serving Labor MP George Seitz and Mill Park MP Lily D’Ambrosio.
Top of the list for his year was educating residents on saving water and ensuring that they were familiar with the council’s services, Cr Mammarella said.
He would also work closely with Brimbank City Council to solve the bottleneck traffic issues on Taylors Rd in Brimbank.
Coming from a politically oriented family – sister Lara Carli was the first female mayor in the City of Whittlesea and his father, Robert, is an electoral officer for Bob Sercombe – Cr Mammarella thanked his family for encouraging him to participate in politics.
“To us, a family dinner-time consisted of discussion on what was happening in our community, state and nationally,” he said.
Cr Mammarella has taken time off from work for Ms D’Ambrosio’s electorate office for the year that he will be mayor.
Primary school teacher and mother of two Cr Renata Cugliari was chosen as the deputy mayor last week.
