Andrew Fullagar has been elected as Yarra Ranges Council's Streeton Ward Councillor, with the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) declaring the winner on Monday, 28 February.
After preferences were distributed, Cr Fullagar won the election with 5109 votes out of the 9283 recorded for the byelection.
Cr Fullagar has been involved in numerous community groups in his ward, including the Upwey Community Group, Township Group and Men's Shed.
"I'm delighted to have been elected as Streeton Ward Councillor," he said.
"I'm really passionate about our community, generally – I'm big on volunteering and particularly the issues in the hills, recently with the storms. I'm very keen to see if Council can give more help to those badly affected."
"My goals for the next few years, importantly, will be to bring Council and the community closer together. If we involve community more in our decision-making process, we can achieve so much more together."
"I'd love to acknowledge the other candidates – well done for putting yourselves out there. To the people of Streeton, I'm humbled by your support of me and I'll do my very best to make sure Streeton gets a fair go."
Yarra Ranges Mayor, Jim Child, congratulated Cr Fullagar on his election win.
"We saw a good range of candidates put their hand up for this byelection, which was hotly contested as preferences were distributed," he said.
"I'm sure Cr Fullagar will be a fantastic community representative, as Cr Burnett-Wake was before him.
"I look forward to welcoming Andrew to the Council chambers, hearing his views and welcoming him into the many conversations we have about policy, planning and community issues over the coming years.
"Congratulations, Andrew, on your election win."
"I'd also like to thank our passionate community members who stood for this election, and for our community members for taking part in this byelection early in the year."
The Streeton Ward byelection was triggered late last year, when Councillor Cathrine Burnett-Wake accepted a vacancy in the Eastern Victoria electorate of the Legislative Council.
