Leah Anderson first put her hand up to run as the mayoral candidate for Port Stephens in 2021 and at the September election, she will throw her hat into the ring for the second time.
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Cr Anderson has been in Port Stephens for about 18 years and said she's always been a community minded person.
"From establishing Port Stephens Women in Business and being president of the Business Chamber, I've always been involved with the community," she said.
Cr Anderson first joined the Port Stephens council in 2021 as an east ward councillor and stepped into the role of deputy mayor in September 2023.
For this upcoming election, Cr Anderson has been endorsed by Labor to run as the mayoral candidate.
She said she wanted to get involved with council so she could lead some different types of change from within.
"It was a little daunting at first but I had the faith and support of lots of people so I gave it a go and got very close on my first go," she said.
One of those people who encouraged Cr Anderson to run for mayor back in 2021 was councillor Giacomo Arnott, who is again supporting Cr Anderson's campaign.
Cr Arnott was first elected into Port Stephens Council in 2017 as an west ward councillor and he has again been endorsed by Labor to run for a third time.
"It's really humbling to know that I've had that faith put in me three times now," he said.
Cr Arnott has lived in Raymond Terrace his whole life and said he's seen the town go from highs to lows.
"I think that gives me a really good perspective to fight for the people that really need it and for the town to have a strong voice that will take action," he said.
If elected, Cr Anderson wants to build on community engagement, listening to the community and acting in their best interest.
"Listen, care, act is what we came into the council to do and I want to build on that," she said.
Her ultimate goal as mayor would be to lift community satisfaction.
"As a council we're trying to bring the community in more and we want to hear from them about how council should be engaging," Cr Anderson said.
At this stage Cr Anderson and Cr Arnott are only aware of the Labor candidates in the running for mayor at the upcoming election.
"Until people put in their nomination form, we don't know who will be running," Cr Arnott said.
While they've started their election campaign, Cr Arnott said they're really not changing their approach that much.
"The only difference is our focus will be on what the next term of council will look like," he said.
The 2024 NSW local government election will be held on September 14.
Laura Rumbel
Laura Rumbel is a journalist who has always called Maitland home. She has been with the Maitland Mercury since 2022, and is passionate about all areas of local news.
Laura Rumbel is a journalist who has always called Maitland home. She has been with the Maitland Mercury since 2022, and is passionate about all areas of local news.
