HAMILTON resident, Sharon Jackson has put her hand up to run in the Southern Grampians Shire Council elections and hoped to amplify the voice of local businesses and families.

Ms Jackson grew up Warrnambool and lived in Portland for 15 years, before moving to regional South Australia for six years and eventually returning to the region around eight years ago with her husband who runs a local business.

She is a mother of three and grandmother of six, and also works as a book keeper for a local law firm dealing with finance. 

Ms Jackson said running for Council has been something she has thought about doing since she moved to the region, but has since gathered more knowledge about the community’s needs.

“I thought, it’s time to get in there and stand up for businesses as much as I can and get money flowing in the right direction for businesses,” she said.

“Being a grandmother as well, with young grandchildren, I think some of that money needs to funnel into activities for families as well.”

With her husband co-owning A & T Auto Care in Hamilton and herself being a previous member of the Western District Chamber (formerly Hamilton Regional Business Association) group, Ms Jackson said she has gathered more insight about what local businesses are wanting from Council.

“I was constantly talking to business owners about what’s effective in the area,” she said.

“But also having that understanding of being a local business owner and dealing with hundreds of businesses all the time.”

If elected for council, Ms Jackson said she hoped to reflect the overall voice and desires from the community, particularly with budgeting.

“One of the biggest outcries you hear from the community is that they aren’t happy with how the money is being spent,” she said.

“As much as we love to see these big grand projects I think they are thinking big-scale and not thinking about what the community really needs.

“That’s one of the things I really want to drill down on – where the money is going and try and funnel it to where it needs to go.”

Ms Jackson said she is looking forward to seeing the new face of Council, as with only three existing councillors re-nominating, there will be at least four new candidates elected. 

“It’s going to be a real shake up for Council this year,” she said.

“It’s going to be really good to see how that pans out with a whole bunch of new people and having a new voice.”