Nearing Campaspe Shire Council elections, prospective candidates are putting their hands up while current councillors vie to defend their seats in the Echuca office.
But what does it take to become a councillor?
To find out, the Free Press chatted with state Member for Shepparton Kim O’Keeffe about her journey from a hopeful candidate in 2016 to her current position in Victorian parliament.
Mrs O’Keeffe’s rise through the ranks of politics was no accident.
She took meticulous steps, trusted herself and eventually, in her own words, took “a leap of faith”.
Speaking about how she provides advice to people thinking of running for council, she explained that it had everything to do with faith.
“I overthought it a lot: ‘Do I have the intelligence, the experience, the skills?’” she said.
“I’m not an engineer, I’m not a town planner, so I think that’s where a lot of people hold back.
“A lot of people and women that I’ve spoke to that have looked at me with aspiration and inspiration, they’ve gone ‘How did you take that leap of faith?’
“And that’s exactly what it was because I put faith in myself.”
Of the 29 candidates in the 2016 Greater Shepparton City Council elections, Mrs O’Keeffe’s name was at the bottom of the ballot.
She said she was never sure she would be elected — the ballot order did not help her chances — but Mrs O’Keeffe understood that if the voters wanted her in, they would elect her.
“I’ve never gone into any election thinking I’m going to win,” she said.
“You put yourself out there, you do your best, and you hope that the community pick the people that they want to represent them.”
In 2016, the community chose Mrs O’Keeffe.
When elected, she said she was asked if she’d like to run for mayor, but she declined, reasoning that she wanted to build her experience as a councillor first and foremost.
“I wanted to … find my seat at the table … get to understand what this role meant,” she said.
“I believe you’ve got to have some experience in there to perform, so I went in as deputy mayor my first year … I loved it; it was fabulous.”
She set her eyes higher in her second year, seeking the top job.
One foot in front of the other, Mrs O’Keeffe continued to climb the political ladder, being elected mayor in her second year and stepping down in 2022 to run for state parliament instead.
Speaking about women on council, Mrs O’Keeffe said that while having a blend of genders was good, having the right people — regardless of gender — was really important.
However, she said women often brought a different perspective and energy to the council.
“Some people don’t agree with you and say, ‘I don’t think a woman is any different’, but I think when I went in there, I definitely brought that energy and enthusiasm, [which] doesn’t have to be from a woman, but also the empathy and understanding of a working woman,” she said.
“For me, I had a small business, I’ve been a working mum and a mum of two girls who play sport and all these other activities … my style has always been respect.”
Mrs O’Keeffe was a guest speaker at the Shepparton Women in Council information sessions, where she spoke to women who wanted to know more about running for council.
She said it was refreshing to speak with other like-minded and determined women.
“A woman who attended the session came up to me after, and we had a really good chat. She sent me an inbox on LinkedIn to say, ‘I’ve actually decided I’m going to run now because you’ve encouraged me,’” Mrs O’Keeffe said.
“If you’ve come to that meeting, you’ve come for a reason — you’re interested. How can I encourage you if you think that’s what is right for you in this moment of time?”
As Campaspe Shire Council prepares for life without the ward system, leaving councillors to appeal to the entire shire rather than a single electorate in their election campaigns, our friends in Greater Shepparton have adopted the ward system.
They are decisions Mrs O’Keeffe said people needed to embrace.
“It’s here – we’re going to be positive about it, and we’ve got to see how we can support it and make it work,” she said.
Mrs O’Keeffe said getting smaller voices heard in an unwarded council was about identifying local community champions that would advocate for even the smallest region of a council area.
“I had my go-to people in those small towns because they knew their communities best.
“I depended on those community steering groups, the local champions in their communities, and often the loud voices that were very interested,” she said.
“If we had a choice, we might be having a different conversation [rather than discussing the ward system].
“But it’s here, and I think we all have to get behind it and the members and embrace it.”
These days, Mrs O’Keeffe spends weeks on and off between Shepparton and her Melbourne office for parliamentary sessions.
She said she could not do the job alone.
Behind her is a team of staff that she said helps her with everything, from operating the front desk and welcoming locals to preparing and assisting her with her notes.
The Shepparton office, purposefully located in the centre of town, has an open-door policy, according to Mrs O’Keeffe, which keeps her connected to her community.
“When I’m walking up the steps of parliament — with me on my shoulders is my community, so I never feel like I’m on my own.”