Frank Pangallo will serve the community well

During my 17 years as Mayor of Queanbeyan and through all my 31 years on Queanbeyan Council, I have striven to look after the interests of not just Queanbeyan, but the whole Canberra-Queanbeyan region. During that time, Queanbeyan has grown and developed until it is demographically almost identical to Canberra in the nature of its population, services, demands and concerns. Canberra and Queanbeyan have much in common but retain their differences. To manage these differences and to bridge them where possible, I developed a close working relationship with the ACT Government as well as the Commonwealth Government, especially on matters such as schools, hospitals, roads, water, waste and environmental protection. I have enjoyed good relationships with all Chief Ministers since self-government, sometimes opposing but mostly supportive of issues that have had cross-border relevance. I have been a passionate defender of Queanbeyan interests in the past, but recognise that the border is hardly a fence, that the traffic flows in both directions, that each community prospers when the other does, and that each has every right to have a keen and citizenly interest. I will bring that passion and commitment to defend the interests of the people of Canberra and the whole region.