Fifteen Greeks have been newly or re-elected into local Victorian Councils over the weekend.
Notably, all three seats in the Oakleigh Ward are filled by Greek Australians.
Stephen Dimopoulos, Bill Pontikis, Theo Zographos were chosen by Oakleigh voters, with the hope the strong Greek community of the area is well looked after.
Stephen Dimopoulos is now in his fourth term, and with such success it would be easy to think he would have become a little complacent.
“I don’t think I ever get complacent with these things,” he told Neos Kosmos.
“I was nervous until the day”.
Also joining Mr Dimopoulos is Theo Zographos, who now promotes himself as the youngest elected Greek Australian. At just 23, it’s easy to see why.
He told Neos Kosmos, “age is not the ultimate factor; It comes down to the merits of the individual”.
“I do have many things to learn, not only in local government but generally in life,” he says.
As a representative he is looking to focus on the budget and financial issues, but also has great interest in working with volunteers and community groups.
Zographos also values his Greek heritage and believes more Greek Australians should enter politics.
“I do think it’s extremely important to have Greek Australians in local government and in other levels of government and that we support them, regardless of where they sit on the political spectrum,” he says.
Politics runs in the Klisaris family and this year Paul Klisaris of the Mount Waverly ward is joined by his daughter Jami who was elected to the Stonnington North Ward.
This year set a record for the number of candidates vying for positions and shows a growing interest in local government and community matters.
All of Victoria’s 78 councils held elections last weekend, and 610 positions were up for grabs.
The full list of Greek Australians elected and their votes are as follows:
Yarra City Council (Melba Ward), Phillip Vlahogiannis, 1289 votes
Monash City Council (Mulgrave Ward), Paul Klisaris, 7208 votes
Monash City Council (Oakleigh Ward), Steven Dimopoulos, 3444 votes
Monash City Council (Oakleigh Ward), Bill Pontikis, 2664 votes
Monash City Council (Oakleigh Ward), Theo Zographos, 1522 votes
Whittlesea City Council (South West Ward) Kris Pavlidis, 4043 votes
Whittlesea City Council (South East Ward) Mary Lalios, 8120 votes
Moreland City Council (South Ward) Lambros Tapinos, 3826 votes
Stonnington City Council (North Ward), Jami Klisaris, 971 votes
Manningham City Council (Heide Ward), Jim Grivokostopoulos, 2638 votes
Kingston City Council (North Ward), Steve Staikos, 7040 votes
Hume City Council (Meadow Valley Ward), Helen Patsikatheodorou, 4313 votes
Darebin City Council (Rucker Ward), Steven Tsitas, 3396 votes
Moyne Shire Council, Jim Doukas, 2431 votes
Warrnambool City Council, Peter Sycopoulis, 1815 votes