IT TOOK 10 years to get to be mayor of Hurstville and Con Hindi couldn't be more "honoured and humbled to have been elected as the mayor of this great, vibrant and multicultural city of ours".
Cr Hindi, a Liberal, was elected on September 10, beating Labor's Vince Badalati seven votes to five.
Jack Jacovou, also a Liberal, chose not to stand again.
Cr Michelle Stevens, an independent, is the deputy.
"Tonight I would like to say my dream has become a reality, to become the mayor of this city is not just an honour, it is an enormous responsibility and a huge opportunity to make a difference," he said.
While Cr Hindi set out to make a difference through local government in 2004 — "to have a say in the future of our area and to make sure my kids can live in a beautiful environment" — his aspirational journey to make a mark began in 1977.
That's when Melham and Mary Hindi took their five kids away from Lebanon's civil war and into every immigrant's dream, "a better life in Australia".
With no embassy in Beirut the family went to Cyprus where they were able to "join a queue" to get a visa.
Four months later they were on their way to Sydney and an uncle's house in South Hurstville.
Melham Hindi, a chef back home, became a labourer and Mary baked their bread and shopped at St Vinnies to save money until they could buy a house, in Hillcrest Avenue, where they recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.
Cr Hindi, the middle child, was 14 when he arrived. He spoke Arabic and French but not a word of English.
The conventional wisdom was that it took two years to learn the language and to acclimatise, after which it was up to the individual to make good.
"I couldn't wait to get those two years out of the way because I wanted to fly," Cr Hindi said. "I wanted to make the family proud."
After Hurstville Boys High School he went to Sydney University to study electrical engineering, the first family member to get into tertiary education. He has been working at Ausgrid since.
Now, two of his four children are at university: Malcolm, 20, is studying law and commerce and Rachel, 18, is in her first year of commerce.
Vanessa, 12, is in year 7 at St Ursulas College Kingsgrove and Rebecca, 11, is at St Declans Penshurst.
Cr Hindi's wife Miray, also of Lebanese background, was an unsuccessful candidate for the state seat of Kogarah in 2011.
She has worked for a number of politicians and now does some part-time real estate work.
"If you work hard this is the land of opportunity," Cr Hindi said.
"We are grateful to the people and the government of Australia for accepting us."
The Hindis live at Carss park.
The new mayor intends to hit the ground running with many challenges to be dealt with in the next 12 months.
Michelle Stevens: From involved mum to city's deputy mayor
FOR Michelle Stevens, Hurstville’s new deputy mayor, running for council was a natural progression from being an involved mum.
‘‘I was one of those parents who was always in the P&C and always involved in the children’s lives,’’ she said.
The children, Emma, 23, and Luke, 20, are now in the workforce, leaving Cr Stevens time to devote to the public good via local government.
‘‘I enjoy helping people and I’m interested in the community,’’ she said.
Cr Stevens was among the batch of new councillors elected in 2012, coming in on the ALP ticket on her second try.
She has since quit the ALP, disenchanted with party political methods and believing she could serve the community better as an independent.
An HR systems administrator at the ABC, she has lived in Hurstville for 27 years, since marrying Craig Stevens whose great- grandfather built the house they live in.
The children went to local schools.
Cr Stevens is ready for ‘‘business as usual, doing what I was elected to do — to assist residents in the Hurstville local government area’’.
‘‘I will continue to fight overdevelopment, such as high rise in inappropriate areas,’’ she said.
