Darren Wallace

Putting the community first is what Darren Wallace will do if elected to represent the east ward.

Mr Wallace works in the asset management department at Gippsland Water.

He has a long history of involvement with the Trafalgar community, including the CFA for 25 years (10 years as captain); four years on the Trafalgar Primary School council; and eight years on Trafalgar High School council (five years as president).

Mr Wallace has lived in Trafalgar all his life. With a long time commitment to the community, particularly through the CFA, he said representing the community at a council level was something he had often considered.

Mr Wallace believes the new ward boundaries will provide residents in the eastern end of the shire with more equal representation.

He said Trafalgar had always been the “smaller cousin” to Warragul and Drouin.

“My pitch is the community comes first and that’s the way I’ve always approached it with the CFA and school council.

“I like to be guided by the people. It’s obviously a collaborative approach to decision making but it’s all about the people I represent.

“I will be guided by their voices, not my personal views.

Through his work at Gippsland Water, Mr Wallace said there were a lot of parallels between the asset management systems of a council and water authority.

“I can bring a lot of my work experience into council,” he said.

Mr Wallace said he had more than 10 years’ experience in asset management including life cycle costs, contract and project management.

Mr Wallace said he was not about being a single issue candidate. “It’s about good governance.”

“East ward will require strong community engagement and advocacy to ensure that we continue to grow and get the services we require within our ward.

Mr Wallace said the current council could be commended for its work in creating a stable and well run shire.

“I think they can leave a good legacy behind. There is no mess for the next councillors to tidy up, it will be business as usual,” he said.