Council
12 April, 2024
Meet your new Mayor
For the first time since the inception of Somerset Regional Council in 2008, a new mayor has taken the seat, with former councillor Jason Wendt filling in the shoes of retired mayor, Graeme Lehmann.
Amongst Mayor Wendt’s first issues to tackle is the roads, with the faulty, degraded Somerset roads being a recurring issue raised during the campaign period.
“During the campaign, roads were a big issue for our region,” he said.
“I’m keen to talk to our state members to discuss roads, to advocate for Somerset.”
Another focal point for the new Mayor is to restore the community/council relationship and employ an economic development role within Council.
“We are keen to move Somerset forward, with the communities input”, Cr Wendt said.
“I want to rebuild the community/council relationship so that people who are interested in what council is doing feel like they can communicate directly with the councillor team and be involved in the future direction of their own region.
“We’re all approachable and happy to chat about matters within our local communities.
“Our new team is passionate and fi lled with energy to make Somerset the envy of other councils.”
Cr Wendt decided to run for the mayoral position, as he believes Somerset requires “a new, invigorated direction to grow”, being keen to progress the region and make real changes for the future.
“I ran a basic honest campaign where I showed people who I really am and what vision I had for the Somerset Region.
“I think Somerset is a great region and it requires a new invigorated direction to grow and be a place where our children want to raise their children, whilst maintaining our rural identity.
“People want someone who is just a basic person that they can relate to, that speaks on their behalf but isn’t a typical politician.”
After taking a break to recover from the election stress and catching up on some sleep, Cr Wendt is now back at work with the new Council team.
While the first official Council meeting will take place this week, the newly elected team has already caught up for informal chats about the election and motivations for the Somerset region.
“I’m ready for the adventure ahead with a councillor team that is chomping at the bit for change,” Cr Wendt said.
The new Somerset Council was sworn on March 28 in Esk, with the elected councillors being newcomers Michael Bishop, Tiara Hurley, Brett Freese and Sally Jess, and returning councillors Kylee Isidro and Helen Brieschke.
