After 13 years on Council and 9 as Mayor, Rowena Abbey will not be running in the next Yass Valley Council election.
“I like to think I’m leaving it in a better state than when I got to it,” said the outgoing Mayor.
The announcement was made mistakenly by Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack at the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the Yass-to-Murrumbateman Water Transfer Project. The Deputy Prime Minister also goaded Rowena to take a tilt at Federal politics which she swiftly shut down.
Rowena said she started with Yass Valley Council because there were a lot of projects she was passionate about, projects that are now complete or in the process of being completed.
“I’ve done the job and considered it as a full-time job because I’ve wanted to see a lot of really good projects and we needed to get things going and I think hopefully a lot of that is underway and happening.”
“I’ve got some other things I need to be doing and it’s time to get some of my life back as well,” she said.
As for what will be her legacy as Yass Valley Mayor, Rowena hopes it will be an upgraded Barton Highway, which she has been pushing for many years .
“I was nicknamed Mrs Barton Highway at one stage for pestering people so much about it,” Rowena said with a chuckle.
Other projects she’s proud of include the raising of the dam wall, the Yass-to-Murrumbateman pipeline, the rapid growth of Yass and Murrumbateman, and the replacing of nearly all timber bridges in the Yass Valley.
Rowena acknowledged the great work of the current group of staff at Yass Valley Council, and said it eased her concerns knowing she was leaving Council in capable hands.
“We’ve got a really good group of staff and a dedicated team and what I hope is I’m walking away with a great group of people to continue the good work that they’ve already done,” she said.
The outgoing Mayor said there were plenty of benefits to running for Council, saying the flexibility of the role and the great people you get to meet within and outside the local community, were the two things she has found most rewarding.
“There are rewards out of it, you get to know your community really well. ”
“I’ve met a lot of great people that I wouldn’t have probably had the opportunity to meet, outside of Yass as well by being Mayor.”
“The fact that we actually do Zoom and we have flexible working, in terms of getting to Council meetings and particularly for those with younger families sometimes you can’t get to all of the meetings,” she said.
Rowena still has a few months to go in the role, and it certainly won’t be the last time we mention her departure in the coming months.
We at the Yass Valley Times would like to congratulate Rowena on her remarkable tenure as Mayor and wish her all the best in her future endeavours.
Max O’Driscoll
