South Ward
It’s game on in the Valley’s smallest ward.
Hockey enthusiast Linda Reid said she shook hands with two decade-long sitting Latrobe City councillor Darryl White to notify him of her nomination.
“He’s been in the position for 20 years and I think it’s time we have a new voice and new approach,” Ms Reid said.
The 59 year-old stood against the councillor once before, receiving 40 per cent of the vote, but believes she lost because of the preference-based system.
“I’m pleased the preference system has been scrapped,” Ms Reid said.
Born in Traralgon, Ms Reid has lived in Churchill with her husband for the past 36 years.
She has been the director of Good Start Early Learning in Traralgon for 20 years.
An advocate for construction of the town’s synthetic hockey pitch, Ms Reid has been involved in many of the town’s community groups.
This includes the Churchill Hockey Association, Churchill and District Community Association, the Toy Library and a committee member of the town’s kindergarten and primary school.
Beautifying Churchill is one of her main goals, calling the Acacia Way service station an “eyesore” at the entrance of the town.
She said she would also advocate for hard rubbish collection.
“These towns want somebody that will listen, act and speak up from the council, not to let those opportunities go sliding past,” Ms Reid said.
She said she had been attending council meetings for the past 18 months to learn about local government processes.
Ms Reid said Churchill used to be known as the fourth town in the Latrobe Valley and needed to lift its profile, alongside Yinnar and Boolarra.
However, unifying ‘Latrobe City’ is paramount to her.
“A lot of councillors are busy protecting their own patch, but they forget that they’re not just representing their ward, and we have projects that are Latrobe City wide,” she said.
