Whittlesea’s new deputy mayor makes international headlines

Whittlesea deputy mayor Tom Joseph has made international news after being the first person from the Alappuzha district in Kerala, India to be elected to a leadership role in government in Australia.

IT IS not everyday Whittlesea Council makes international headlines, but the appointment of deputy mayor Tom Joseph has done just that.

Last week the council voted unanimously to make councillor Lawrie Cox mayor and Cr Joseph his deputy.

Cr Joseph’s appointment makes him the first person from the Alappuzha district in Kerala, India, to be elected into a leadership role within a local government in Australia.

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News of his success had been reported by major newspapers, television channels and websites in Kerala, Cr Joseph said.

He said he was “proud” to make history.

Cr Cox, who was Whittlesea Shire president from 1979 to 1986 and returned to Whittlesea Council in 2010, said he was looking forward to working with Cr Joseph.

The pair replace former mayor Kris Pavlidis and deputy Emilia Sterjova.

Whittlesea Council has just voted in a new mayor Lawrie Cox and deputy Tom Joseph. Picture: Rob Leeson.

Cr Cox said he was “looking forward” to leading the council after a “challenging year”, which included calls for a municipal monitor to review councillor behaviour.

He said he planned to continue supporting infrastructure projects and improve traffic congestion.

Improving service delivery and saving taxpayers money were Cr Joseph’s biggest priorities. He was interested in the creation of an app to assist people in booking hard waste collection.

Both Mr Cox and Mr Joseph had already attended events in their new roles, including at the Whittlesea Show.

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