Anthony Zakoski runs for new Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council

For the first-time candidate these are top priorities for the region, fundamentals if sorted out well would deliver huge benefits for all residents. 

The Karabar resident is secretary of the Macedonian Orthodox Church Community group and has been involved in the organisation, which supports soccer and dance activity, for more than a decade.

The 42-year-old said he was a supporter of the Ellerton Drive Extension and would get behind similar traffic redirection efforts to give central parts of towns in the district space to thrive. 

“The amount of quarry trucks, B-doubles, that come though our town, through Cooma Road and Kings Highway Bridge, it is not correct,” he said.

“We should not be having such heavy arterial trucks coming through our main stretch of road.”

If elected, Mr Zakoski said he would advocate for a modernisation of council and work to boost efficiency.

While he felt former councillors had served the area well and should be applauded, Mr Zakoski said fresh ideas and fresh faces were needed to bring council practices into the 21^st century.

The self-described “people’s person” said he was approachable and felt resident’s frustration commonly stemmed from not knowing how to table and resolve their concerns.

If elected he would push for a return to a “common good” approach and ensure public funding was allocated to projects that delivered wide community benefits.