“I have lived here half my life, and I farmed (macadamias in the Valley) for 20 years before I became a council representative,” she said.

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Apart from her 30-years of lived experience in the community, Ms Jenvey also has impressive credentials in terms of involvement on countless local committees, ranging from two years as president of a high school P&C to eight years as a Nambucca Valley councillor.

Ms Jenvey is also the Chairperson of Arts Mid North Coast, the region’s peak arts and cultural development organisation.

An experienced political operator, Ms Jenvey ran as the Labor candidate for Oxley in the 2019 NSW state election, and for Mayor in the 2021 Nambucca Valley Council elections.

“I’ve met this community on-site over development issues, I’ve met them as they’ve done presentations to council, and I’ve met them on the street during election campaigns,” Ms Jenvey told NOTA.

“I don’t (usually) bring state or federal issues into the council chamber but it is something that informs my values,” the Labor candidate said.

“My vision is for a safe and friendly community that cares about each other,” she said.

Ms Jenvey believes her extensive experience of local government could be a benefit to the LGA as mayor.

“My experience on council means I understand the organisation,” she said.

“The role of the mayor is to head this organisation but also to make sure that the vision that the community develops for itself is enacted and that we get good value for money for the services that council is responsible for.”

Ms Jenvey is also advocating for a “better community plan” for the LGA.

“I think if Council is less corporate in its outlook and brings back more forms of community development it will lead to better outcomes for the community.

“A good community plan would include youth services, affordable housing and could have potential for improvements or options in many areas, for example community batteries for renewable energy that could be used for charging electric vehicles etc,” she said.

Improving the delivery of council services is also vital, according to Ms Jenvey, including libraries, parks and roads.

Councillor Jenvey does not envisage council rates increasing under her leadership, she said, although she would continue to back Consumer Price Index (CPI) increases.

“There are other ways to get money,” she assured NOTA.

“I want to keep working on beautifying our town centres, particularly the main streets of Nambucca Heads and Bowraville.”

As regulars to Nambucca Valley Council meetings may have noted, the past term has seen occasional tense interactions between Ms Jenvey and others, particularly outgoing Mayor Rhonda Hoban.

“The first thing I’m going to do is ask for conflict resolution training to expand the skills I’ve got,” Ms Jenvey said.

“It’s a hierarchy and the mayor has access to much more information than councillors so it would be expected that as a new mayor, you would skill up (in many areas),” she said.

By Ned COWIE