Haenel puts up hand for mayor
orsham councillor Claudia Haenel has declared her intention to nominate for Horsham Rural City Council mayor.
Cr Haenel has put herself forward for the position with a mayoral election scheduled for November 18 and has outlined her intentions in a letter to the media.
Mayoral elections, voted on by councillors, occur every 12 months and the Horsham councillors are approaching their first year in office since local government elections. Cr Robyn Gulline is in the mayoral chair. Cr Haenel said when she was elected to the council 11 months ago, she advocated for making a difference to women, water and the Western Highway bypass, to detour heavy vehicles out of Horsham and keep our community streets safe.
She said recreational water allocation had now been granted to Green Lake, money had been allocated for a women’s garden, and advocacy to detour heavy vehicles away from residential streets continued.
“I am also interested in the aerodrome, aged sector, animals and the arts. I was a practising artist with a degree in fine art and visual culture after many years in media advertising and a small business in health care,” she said.
“I have also worked in the rural and hospitality sectors while travelling as a young person. I am now passionate about food sustainability and healthy diet outcomes for our community.
“I have rich life experience living and working in Australian capitals and overseas. But I am a Horsham girl at heart and the third generation to live in Horsham North, where my mum still lives after 60 years in the family home. I live east of Horsham in St Helens Plains, on the edge of the municipality, but I frequently visit mum at home in Horsham North, for care giving.”
Cr Haenel said she believed her achievements and experience made her an ideal candidate for Horsham mayor.
“I also believe the council should have choice and diversity when selecting its next mayor, and I believe I provide that choice,” she said.
“I am not a member, nor am I affiliated with any political party. My moderate views are completely independent and my own. I have the right balance of experience, transparency, integrity and vision to guide our council group through this COVID recovery and find the opportunities to grow our municipality into the future.
“I have asked my fellow councillors for their support and am grateful to those who have encouraged me. The ultimate decision of who will be mayor will be in the hands of my fellow councillors.
“If I am successfully elected as mayor I will lead with my values of ‘excellence in leadership through aspirational and sustainable innovation, delivered ethically and transparently’, for regional community liveability, sustainability and accessibility.
“I appreciate the meaningful connections I have made in the community while out and about doing ‘Coffee with Cr Claudia’, whether it be Café 22 in Horsham Plaza, Weir Park at the Wimmera River or the Police Paddock reserve in Horsham North.”