City of Greater Geraldton election candidates: Serena Giudice aiming to be a voice for the community

Serena Giudice was born in Geraldton, educated here, works here, made the choice to raise a family here and now wants to represent the community on the council.

With a love for the city, she could not think of a better place to bring up her son, holding a vested interest in helping make their home an even better place to live, whilst working to keep rates as low as possible.

If elected to the council, Ms Giudice’s goal is to be a conduit between the community and executive. She’s asking residents to let her know about anything they believed could be improved or anything they felt strongly about and she would do her best to help them be heard.

As a mother to a young son, Ms Giudice said: “I will be going back to work in the future, but while my boy was little, I knew I’d have more time to actually put into a role like this.”

“My number one priority is being a representative of people and residents of Geraldton.

“I’m not going in with a personal agenda, but with the perspective I’ve gained as a business owner, a board member, and now as a new mother. Even if I don’t agree with someone’s views, I’ll make sure they’re put in front of the right people and that they’re heard.”

Bringing experience across several boards, Ms Giudice has served industry and community over the last 17 years, named among the State’s 40 leading business entrepreneurs under the age of 40 for her role as managing director of Geraldton Homes.

She knows how important it is to support local businesses and that a thriving community is only possible with thriving local industry.

In response to challenges facing the council, Ms Giudice said: “The biggest one is probably the cost-of-living crisis. I will be looking at trying to help make that balance, in trying to keep the rates as low as possible while still delivering the amenities that the community needs.

“People are really struggling to make ends meet and every rate rise adds to that pain, I want to make sure our community gets real value for every dollar spent.”

Ms Giudice said she also believed diversity on the council was vital.

“Different perspectives encourage healthy debate and better decision-making . . . I think if you get a lot of different opinions, everyone can then meet in the middle, have a debate and find the best solution going forward, regardless of what the issues are,” she said.

“My biggest motivation is to try and listen to what people want. I really love helping people. I enjoy sitting down, doing a bit of research and then helping people to the best of my ability, and I find great joy in that.

“So if I do get elected, that’s the biggest thing that I’m looking forward to, and I can see that being the most rewarding part of the role.

“I’m familiar with legislation, policies, agendas and I do enjoy being a mouthpiece for people that need help and for change that they might see necessary.”