Stephanie Asher will take a leave of absence from her role as City of Greater Geelong mayor in the lead up to the federal election.
Ms Asher, who was preselected as the Liberal candidate for the Corangamite electorate, announced she was temporarily stepping down over the weekend.
“Being mayor of Greater Geelong is an immense honour and privilege but with the federal election now just around the corner, the time is right to step aside from the role,” she said.
“I am very proud of my record as mayor and serving our local community, particularly infrastructure items supporting our lifestyle, which include endorsing construction of the 50m pool in Drysdale and advocating for the second stage indoor complex, as well as the Shared Trails Masterplan, supported by a $5.35 million investment into paths and township connections.
“Our enterprise-wide sustainability plan and detailed climate change response plan, including net-zero for the community by 2035 was also a key achievement.
“From the outset, I committed to taking a leave of absence early this year, which will allow me to focus entirely on campaigning for the federal seat of Corangamite.”
Ms Asher was preselected to run for the marginal seat in July last year and committed at the time to taking a leave of absence ahead of the election, although the Liberal party originally said she would resign when the election was called.
“I feel energised by the prospect of the federal election and potentially representing our local community as your federal government representative,” she said.
“As your Liberal for Corangamite, I’ll be working 24/7 for things like better local infrastructure and services to manage our regional growth, and of course a strong local economy to help provide security and certainty for local families and retirees.”
The federal election is yet to be called, but must be held on or before May 21.
Corangamite is had the second narrowest result of all Victorian seats at the last election in 2019, with Labor MP Libby Coker winning the seat from the incumbent Liberal member Sarah Henderson by one per cent.
Ms Asher said she had written to City chief executive Martin Cutter regarding her intentions, as well as formally advising the council group.
In her absence, deputy mayor Trent Sullivan will take over as mayor.
“We have an amazing community here in Greater Geelong and my priority in taking on this role will remain as it has always been – listening to residents and taking action that represents their needs and positions our region for a positive future,” Cr Sullivan said.
“We have a team of very passionate councillors and a number of exciting projects under way at the moment, and we want to continue to get things done for the community.”
Ms Asher will also take a leave of absence from her position of councillor.
Under the Local Government Act 2020, she will be required to resign from the council if she is elected to the federal parliament.
She is not expected to receive her mayoral allowance of $100,434 while on leave.
