Mayor and Councillors

Mayor Leah Anderson wearing the Mayoral Chains

Mayor Leah Anderson

I am thrilled to be the first popularly elected female Mayor in the history of Port Stephens.

In my first term of Council, I was proud to represent my community as East Ward Councillor and Port Stephens as Deputy Mayor.

My background is 35 years in the finance industry, 25 of these working in senior leadership roles at Westpac Bank, and the remaining 10 years managing my own mortgage broking and financial planning business.

I have always been a very active member of the community, being a proud Rotarian for 15 years and receiving the honour of a Paul Harris Fellow in 2023.

I founded Port Stephens Women in Business, and was Chair for many years and now, proudly a life member.

I have also served as a director and chair of Business Port Stephens, and as a director on the boards of Destination Port Stephens and Port Stephens Koala Hospital, where I am also a fully qualified Koala carer.

My family and I love living in Port Stephens, it is a beautiful part of the world and I am extremely proud to serve our community as Mayor.

If you would like to stay up to date with what Leah is doing in our community, you can follow her on Facebook.

Councillors

West ward

Giacomo has lived and worked in Raymond Terrace his whole life. He is a Law and Business graduate and has his Diploma of Legal Practice.

He is a professional firefighter based at Raymond Terrace and volunteers with many local groups and community-based initiatives. He also works in industrial law, fighting for the rights of workers.

Giacomo has spent his time on Council delivering for the ratepayers of Port Stephens, standing up for what's right and improving communications with the Port Stephens community. He is continuing to try and improve transparency, while delivering valued services and infrastructure to the local community. Giacomo was the Deputy Mayor from 2022-2023.

If you'd like to stay up to date with what Giacomo is doing in our community, you can follow him on Facebook.

Peter has been involved in communications, marketing, advocacy, sales, and influencing people’s opinions for most of his professional career.

He has been granted several National and International awards in recognition of his various acts in the areas of diplomacy and humanitarian works.

He has always taken active roles in many business and community organisations as both an executive member, and advocate for those organisations’ views and philosophies.

Peter is a mental health advocate, presenter, facilitator, public speaker, blogger, writer, and master of ceremonies. He is currently a member of the beyond blue speaker’s bureau, formerly presenter, producer, and trainer with Port Stephens FM 100.9, and engaged in working with numerous NFPs, and NGOs in the Hunter region.

His views on community consultation and advocacy are ones which are integral to the processes of introducing new, and working with, older structures in society to bring about a cohesive and integrated whole.

I have lived in my current address at Butterwick for over a quarter of a century where my now adult children were raised together with countless animals. In my role as a Surveyor, I have walked over nearly every part of Port Stephens at some time, no matter how steep or how swampy, I have been there with ropes and abseiling gear, or thigh deep in swampy mud. As a scuba diver, I have also spent time beneath Port Stephens viewing some of the best kept secrets in the world when it comes to amazing dive locations.

I have played sport at nearly every sporting venue in the Local Government Area. These include soccer, cricket, baseball, and touch football. I still play cricket on Saturdays for Port Stephens Pythons and Veterans Cricket on Sundays.  I have played Veterans Cricket for NSW in the National Titles, and it is my intention to try and get picked in the Australian Team. I am also an avid skier, camper and 4wder and enjoy being active.  I am also a Justice of the Peace.

The roles I hold or have held include:

  • Former Deputy Mayor
  • Nine years on Council
  • Immediate past President of Housing Industry Association (HIA)
  • Director of Association of Australian Certifiers
  • Spokesperson for SAFE EARS
  • Former President of Seaham P&C
  • Former President of Williams River Preschool Association
  • Former Board member of Maitland and Districts Cricket Association
  • Life member of Port Stephens Cricket Club
  • Managing Director of Le Mottee Group – a company that provides Surveying, Civil Engineering, and Planning Services

East ward

Roz made her home on the Tomaree Penninsula in 1979  where she opened the first coffee shop in Shoal Bay. During this period to 1989, as well as running her small business, she volunteered her time in a diverse range of community organisations and held roles as Secretary of the Nelson Bay Chamber of Commerce, Director of Harbourside Haven, and Vice Chairperson of two Port Stephens Festivals teams.

The scarcity of early childhood education for her two young children, led Roz to the role of President of the Port Stephens Childcare Group. The group advocated for and sought increased funding for additional facilities. This included an Occasional Care Centre in Raymond Terrace , Long Day Care Centre at Salamander Centre and Vacation Care  during  the school holidays to give families running small business care security so they could focus on the running of their business during the very busy peak tourist times.

After completing a Bachelor of Arts Degree at Newcastle University and Post Graduate studies in Management and Vocational Training, Roz entered a 30-year career in Community Services. This took her away from her home to work in  Tamworth, Gunnedah and in the remote Orana Far West of NSW. Following a role in Sydney managing the public funding and monitoring of Disability Services, Roz returned to the area in 2000 and worked part time in services for children in Out of Home Care.

Now retired, Roz lives at Soldiers Point and has continued her commitment to engaging with, and volunteering, in the community with organisations like the Mambo Wanda Landcare Group, Soldiers Point Community Group, EcoNetwork, Tomaree Residents and Ratepayers Association and the Tomaree Headland Heritage Group.

Roz’s years of working for, and volunteering with, community based organisations informs her work as an East Ward Councillor and she remains passionate about her community… your community … our paradise.

Nathan is a dedicated representative and proud resident of Port Stephens, where he grew up and is raising his family. He is deeply invested in the future of our region and wants to make it an even better place to live and raise a family.

Nathan has served as the President of a business chamber for over 5 years where he worked to support local businesses and drive economic growth. He understands the critical role local businesses play in our community.

As a board member of many local sporting organisations and through years of involvement in Newcastle Hunter Rugby League, Nathan has a strong commitment to local sports and youth development. Nathan is passionate about giving back to the Port Stephens community, advancing & defending Liberal values and advocating for our region's future.

Mark has lived in Port Stephens for over 10 years with 20 years experience in the Hospitality Sector and now working in management for a local distribution company, which sees him travel throuhout the Port Stephens and Hunter region and engaging with local businesses. Mark has also spent time volunteering in the community with his local RFS brigade.

With a young family, Mark sees the importance of continually building a strong community and delivered projects to benefit the future generations of Port Stephens.

Mark is dedicated to representing his community and wants to see the best outcomes possible for all its residents.

You can stay  up to date with Mark on his Facebook Page.

Central ward

Jason has worked for 20 years in a local NSW public school as a dedicated and trusted classroom teacher. Over that time he has built strong partnerships with parents and community organisations in the pursuit of providing quality education outcomes for all students. Jason has a particular interest in collaborating with non-profit community groups to the betterment of a child’s education and preparedness for adulthood.

For the last 9 years Jason has held the role of President of Medowie Little Athletics Club where he thoroughly enjoyed engaging with the local community, and supporting young people to work to their potential to experience success in sport. Volunteer led sporting groups are an important part of every community and Jason actively seeks to support groups wherever possible to assist them to achieve their goals.

Jason was an active member of the Stockton Hospital Welfare Association where he passionately advocated for people living with a disability. His interest in this area remains a strong focus whilst he is a councillor and he will work hard with council to effectively implement the Disability Inclusion Action Plan across Port Stephens.

Jason has called Medowie home since 2006 where he lives with his wife and two children. He has a thorough understanding of the needs of local families of Central Ward. Families want to be able to drive and walk safely around their suburbs and Jason advocates strongly for the provision of high quality and cared for public spaces and safe and accessible pathways.

Chris Doohan has been a permanent resident of Medowie for nearly 2 decades, and has lived in or been a regular visitor to the Port Stephens region for more than 40 years. He was elected as a Central Ward Councillor in 2012 and has been your Deputy Mayor in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2020.

Chris is passionate about Port Stephens and is incredibly proud to represent his community. He participates in many local committees, councils, associations and groups — all working to improve Port Stephens.

Chris ran his own fishing charter business in Nelson Bay for over 5 years and is currently employed as a Business Improvements Manager in the Aerospace industry. He proudly spent 15 years serving our country as an Aircraft Technician on F/A-18 Hornets in the Royal Australian Air Force, and he also spent 7 years working as a Pneudraulic Specialist in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Chris has a keen interest in improving local infrastructure and helping provide employment opportunities, which allow local people to live and work in our beautiful Port Stephens. He is sensitive to the environment but supports good development to allow natural and sustainable growth of the area. He is also a strong advocate for sports and ensuring that there are facilities available to keep our community active.

Chris has 2 children, Holly and Jaike, who have been schooled locally and are active in local sporting teams.

Ben is a dad to Lachlan and husband to Nicole and live in Medowie.

Ben is a civil engineer with masters degree in pavement, so improving roads are a priority for him. He also wants to make sure you get value for your rates.

Ben is passionate about getting the settings right to let communities thrive, develop and be a place of successful commerce and cohesion.

Ben enjoys watching and participating in sports and is in the process of completing his Master of Construction Law.

View the PSC ward boundary map .