It has been a matter of hitting the ground running as the City of Armadale welcomes two new female leaders into the seats of mayor and chief executive officer.
Joanne Abbiss started in the role as chief executive a week before last year’s local government elections after finishing her six-year stint as chief executive at the City of Kwinana.
She said in her first two days with the City of Armadale she spent 26 hours in the office and the pace hasn’t really slowed since.
Previously completing a law degree with honours and still serving as a guest lecturer at the University of Western Australia the new chief executive comes to the city with a bright attitude and a keen passion to put Armadale on the map.
“There is lots of challenges but these are equally balanced by lots of opportunities,” she said.
“I think the future of the city centre is really bright particularly if we can harness all of the partners together.
“We do need to line up every level of government and also work with the private sector because it is going to take private sector investment as well.
“It’s Armadale’s time, what is invested now will set this community and the region up for the next 50 to 100 years.”
Ms Abbiss said she looks forward to advocating for the sinking of the rail line in the city centre and capitalising on Metronet’s extension to Byford as well as attracting a TAFE to Armadale and developing the Rowley Road precinct.
Newly appointed mayor Ruth Butterfield said she is enjoying getting to know the ins and outs of the organisation from a different perspective.
“I am not Henry Zelones and that’s the thing that people have to get used to,” she said.
“Henry did it this way, well I am going to do it differently.
“I think its just a matter of making the role my own and getting everyone comfortable with me being a different person.”
Ms Butterfield said she looks forward to working with her fellow councillors to deliver projects and facilities for the community.
“For a long time we had only the classic male middle-aged to older retired male representatives, but now I feel we are getting a more representative group,” she said.
“We have got younger people, older people, men, women, people of ethnicity, different backgrounds and we are just ticking those boxes to get diversity in there.”
