There were some nervous moments on Saturday evening at the local government election count for Rhys Williams.
Falling short of his dream by just two votes four years ago, the young gun was taking nothing for granted.
“The energy in the room was incredible and there was this real sense of excitement,” he said. “For me, obviously, it was quite overwhelming, but a moment of real privilege and a night I know I’ll remember for a really long time.”
Speaking with the Mail yesterday, Mr Williams said while his new role came with a “weight of expectation”, he was full of positivity for Mandurah and the way forward.
“We set about to really do this differently, and really make it about what's important to people,” he said.
“We did it that way because that’s the way I intend to lead as mayor.”
Mr Williams credited his partner, Skipper van Peer, as the “key” to his successful campaign.
“I’m totally convinced that a key reason for the significant win was a result of her good understanding of running campaigns,” he said. “We went into this making it human; making it about what’s going on in the suburbs.
“There was this energy around it that gave me the sense that people wanted to be engaged.
“People want to be able to contribute.
“It seemed to me like they were excited about the potential opportunity to do that. I was thrilled with how it came together.”
Mr Williams praised the new-look council, and said it was a “mixed bag” of people from all walks of life, looking forward to effecting change in Mandurah.
He embraced the variety of thinking among councillors and looked forward to them being proactive within the city.
“I think councils are most successful when decision makers reflect the demographic of the community,” he said.
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“It’s a significant gift we’ve been given and we’ve got to make the most of that.”
Mr Williams acknowledged the contribution former mayor Marina Vergone had made and thanked her for her hard work and dedication during her term in office.
He also welcomed new deputy mayor, Caroline Knight, and said he was thrilled to be working alongside someone so “intelligent and forward-thinking”.
Paying tribute to longstanding former deputy Darren Lee, Mr Williams thanked the councillor for his service to the city.
“Darren has been a steady set of hands in that deputy mayor’s role for two mayors [as well as] a personal friend and mentor of mine,” he said.
“He’s responsible for so many of the things that have been successful over the last few years.”
Mr Williams said while there was some negative commentary around Mandurah and its surrounding areas, there was plenty to be proud of in the region.
“It’s about recognising that there’s a lot of great stuff and the areas where we need to do better. We need to be honest about where we’re at and where we need to get to,” he said. “We have to acknowledge that we have those sets of challenges.”
He said council would need to find new solutions to address some of the city’s ongoing issues.