By Corey Everitt
Councillor Brett Owen will make a bid for a sixth term in office saying there is some ‘unfinished business’ that will see him run again in this year’s council elections.
Cr Owen today is one of the longest-serving local councillors with three stints as Mayor, his unbroken term since 2005 is itself old enough to have a beer and be eligible for a drivers license. Since the re-division that created Cardinia Shire almost 30 years ago, Cr Owen has been a councillor for more than half those years.
He told the Gazette that he wishes to take 19 years to beyond 20 by confirming his intention to nominate for the Beacon Hills Ward in the 2024 council elections to be held in October.
“Things have changed a lot in that time, but I still enjoy the role,” he said.
“I still have some unfinished business, a lot of the projects for the community I want to see done.”
In his last three elections, Cr Owen has received at least a third of the vote. With the introduction of single-councillor wards, he was elected with more than 60 percent of first-preference votes in the 2020 election.
A formidable candidate, he thinks it will be a big contest this year.
“I think it will be similar to the last election with quite a large number of candidates, with the single wards it provides a greater opportunity for locals to become a councillor,” he said.
So far, Cr Owen is the first councillor to reassert their intention to contest for another term in 2024 with Cr Graeme Moore last week announcing his departure from the council after the next election.
