← Glenelg Shire Council
Mayor & councillors

Mayor & councillors

Glenelg Shire is unsubdivided: there are no wards, and all seven councillors are elected by the whole Shire, by proportional representation, at the four-yearly Victorian council elections (last held in October 2024). Each November the councillors elect the Mayor and Deputy Mayor from among themselves at a Statutory Meeting.

New to these terms? Read them in plain English
How the mayor is chosen
Either elected directly by voters, or chosen by the councillors.
Ward
A subdivision of a council area that elects its own councillors.
Local Government Area (LGA)
The official area a council governs.
See the full explainer, with formulas →

Who represents you

Mayor
Cr Karen StephensRe-elected Mayor by the councillors at the Statutory Meeting on 19 November 2025, for the next 12 months. The council says this is her fifth term as Mayor (after 2004–05, 2012–13, 2023–24 and 2024–25). Based in Casterton; first elected to the council in 2002.
Deputy Mayor
Cr Matt JowettElected Deputy Mayor on 19 November 2025 — his first time in the role. Based in Portland; elected to the council in 2024. Cr Robyn McDonald was Deputy Mayor for 2024–25.
Councillors
7, elected Shire-wide (no wards)Cr Michael Carr, Cr John Pepper, Cr Robyn McDonald, Cr Duane Angelino and Cr Mary Picard, plus the Mayor and Deputy Mayor.
Change since the 2024 election
Cr Mary Picard elected on countback, 1 June 2026Cr Mike Noske resigned on 28 April 2026. The Victorian Electoral Commission filled the vacancy by a countback of the 2024 ballot papers on 1 June 2026, electing Mary Picard.
Next mayoral election
Statutory Council Meeting, 18 November 2026Victorian mayors are elected by the councillors, not by voters. The council's meeting schedule runs by mayoral year (December to November).
Council meetings
Generally the fourth Tuesday of the month, 5.30pm, Council Chambers, 71 Cliff Street, PortlandSome meetings are held elsewhere in the Shire (in 2025–26: Dartmoor in March, Casterton in April and Merino in September). Meetings are livestreamed on the council's YouTube channel. Question time: up to three written questions per person, by midday the business day before the meeting.
Contact a councillor
Each councillor has a council email address (listed below)To make an appointment, the council's page directs you to the CEO department's business support officer on (03) 5522 2209. Letters: PO Box 152, Portland VIC 3305.

Your representatives

Want to raise something? Contacting your ward councillor or the mayor is one of the most direct ways to be heard between elections.

Victorian council ballot papers and results don't show party affiliation, so we don't label councillors. We list who is in office and link to their official profiles and the election results. The council's Meet your Mayor and Councillors page also lists a phone number for each councillor. The Victorian Electoral Commission's council page lists the same seven councillors (checked September 2026). A council's makeup can change between elections, so the official pages have the most current list.

Sources — check it yourself

Figures are current as at the dates shown and may change — always confirm with the linked source. See the notice at the bottom of the page for full details and how to report a correction.