Katandra West resident Ian Martin is gearing up for a competitive run in the upcoming council elections.
For nearly 10 years he’s called the small town his home; however, he is a Greater Shepparton boy through and through.
“My parents migrated out here when I was four from England and then in the late ’90s I moved around with my current employer who, at the time, moved around Australia a bit and then I came back in 2016,” he said.
He’s running for the Pine Lodge Ward, as he believes he has a good understanding of his area.
It was the ward system itself that caught his eye, pushing him to run for council.
“It’s got the pros and cons, but I think for a community like Katandra West, it's good,” he said.
He said his background in business was something he would be excited to bring to the table.
“I think I can offer something that probably hasn’t been in council prior,” Mr Martin said.
“I’ve got more of a higher corporate background, business background, so I think that’s most likely my strength, and I’m a good people person.”
If elected, he wants to advocate for the smaller towns in the area.
“I want to be advocating for the small communities that I’ll be representing or who have voted me in,” he said.
“Their issues will be a little bit unique compared to what some of the more CBD- or city-centric ones have.
“Whatever my ward wants, and that’s what I’ll be advocating for at the end of the day.”
He returned to the regions after moving away for work and said it was the people who brought him back.
“I had different aspirations than others and there’s a lot of diversity here, culture and many things,” Mr Martin said.
“The city and the region are unique within Australia as far as a regional community goes.
“It’s a growing city, it’s got a lot of potential — untapped, if I’m being honest.”