Residents in Melton and Moorabool can expect to see some new faces in the council chambers by late October.
Melton City Council will have a new electoral structure at the council elections this year, changing from 3 wards with 9 councillors to 10 wards with one councillor in each.
There will be at least two changes, with Watts Ward councillor Justine Farrugia opting not to run in the 2024 election.
Ms Farrugia was elected in January 2023 after a countback granted her a win over Liberal politician and former Melton councillor Moira Deeming.
Current councillors Ashleigh Vandenberg and Bob Kesic will face off against each other in the Jackwood Ward, with the single vacancy meaning only one can be re-elected.
Eight councillors from the current term will again run for council: mayor Kathy Majdlik, deputy mayor Steve Abboushi, Lara Carli, Goran Kesic, Sophie Ramsey, Julie Shannon, Bob Turner, and Ashleigh Vandenberg.
Notable election hopefuls this year include Dr Phil Zada, the founder of Melton Business Excellence Award finalist Stoktake, Iris Du, CEO Magazine 2022 Managing Director of the Year, and Nasim Uddin, founder of local charity Melton Stars.
Also putting themselves forward are John Verdon and Matt Pearse, passionate advocates for their communities in Diggers Rest and Thornhill Park respectively.
The ten new Melton wards are Bullum Bullum, Cambrian, Coolibah, Hilltop, Jackwood, Lake Caroline, Mount Atkinson, Stringybark, Sugar Gum, and Watts, with a total of 60 candidates running for council.
There is only one ward this time around for the upcoming Moorabool Shire Council elections, with 15 candidates jostling for 9 spots.
There will be at least two changes, with current councillors Tonia Dudzik and David Edwards bowing out.
If things go their way, husband and wife duo Paul and Helen Tatchell could end up sitting across from each other in council meetings.
Local snake catcher Jarrod Bingham, who ran for the federal seat of Hawke as an independent candidate, is also in the running.
Current councillors mayor Ally Munari, deputy mayor Moira Berry, Paul Tatchell, Rod Ward, and Tom Sullivan are all going for re-election.
Voting opens on Monday, October 7 and closes on Friday, October 25.
Melton City Council
Bullum Bullum Ward (One Vacancy)
Steve Abboushi
Steve Galevski
Keegan Hand-Howden
Cambrian Ward (One Vacancy)
Kubir Khanal
Aamer Kiani
Ken Hardy
George Palackalody
Bob Turner
Coolibah Ward (One Vacancy)
Veronika Levchenkova
Gurjant Singh
Brandi Morris
Andrew Majdlik
Md Omor Faruq
Victor Ikeh
Roderick Borg
Jasmeen Kaur Grewal
Affan Hasmi
Nasim Uddin
Hilltop Ward (One Vacancy)
Julian Cugliari
Ujjala Camilleri
John Verdon
Andrew Deeming
Jackwood Ward (One Vacancy)
Melanie Jones
Ashleigh Vandenberg
Goran Kesic
Satinder Singh
Lokesh Makkar
Wally Harpreet Singh Walia
Jasmeet Singh Pannu
Mandip Singh
Lake Caroline Ward (One Vacancy)
Sarah O’Neill
Ajay Pasupulate
Mimmie Claudine Watts
Iris Du
Kathy Majdlik
Jake Krohn
Mount Atkinson Ward (One Vacancy)
Phillip Zada
Harpreet Singh Marwaha
Rohit Reddy Rampur
Ranjit Singh
Golam Haque
Matt Pearse
Stringybark Ward (One Vacancy)
Chander Sharma
Ravinder Kaur
Nib De Santis
Julie Shannon
Stephen Waddell
Sushma Nagaraj
Sugar Gum Ward (One Vacancy)
Bill Au
Lara Carli
Daniel Toncic
Watts Ward (One Vacancy)
Ashleigh Warren
Sophie Ramsey
Michael Tat
Kulwant Singh Bhambra
Merrick Price
Vincent Fasulo
Graham Watt
George D. Rozario
Ted Caruana
Moorabool Shire Council (9 vacancies)
Paul Tatchell
Sheila Freeman
Jarrod James Bingham
Steven Venditti Taylor
Helen Tatchell
Moira Berry
Karellyn Dangar
Tim Hawthorne
Rodney Ward
John Keogh
Tom Sullivan
Michael Ray
Ilona Kucera
Ally Munari
Timothy Bell
