“I want to be a councillor who represents everyone in the shire.”
Colac Otway Shire’s newest councillor, Tosh-Jake Finnigan, has marked state history in being the first openly transgender councillor, much to their surprise.
“I never set out to be the first elected trans councillor or representative in Victoria, that wasn’t something I knew hadn’t been achieved,” Cr Finnigan said.
“I first came out as non-binary when I was 21, I’m very open about it.”
Cr Finnigan, 29, joined the council after the Victorian Electoral Commission did a countback today at noon to fill the shire’s vacant position.
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Where To Buy“I’m proud of who I am, but being trans and non-binary is just one aspect of who I am, and I don’t want to be a councillor who represents only the queer community, I want to be a councillor who represents everyone in the shire.”
Cr Finnigan said they hoped to introduce a motion for the council to display pride flags on the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexism and Transphobia, or IDAHOBIT.
“There’s a lot of other priorities for me immediately, I just need to get through induction and make sure my ducks are in a row, dealing with the items on the agendas and what’s in front of us at the moment,” they said.
“But it is something I’ll seek to introduce as soon as what’s practically possible and I would hope that we would have unanimous support in council.”
Cr Finnigan said they looked forward to representing the community and joining their first council meeting on February 1.