Macksville business owner to contest council elections Nambucca Valley Nambucca Valley - popup ad by News Of The Area - Modern Media - August 23, 2024 Tamara Castle/McWilliam. MACKSVILLE business owner Tamara Castle/McWilliam will run as an independent council candidate in the September 14 local government election. Tamara’s connection to the Nambucca Valley goes back for generations. Advertise with News of The Area today. It’s worth it for your business. Message us. Phone us – (02) 4981 8882. Email us – media@newsofthearea.com.au She started a family-run business in Macksville over twenty years ago, now known as Elk on 38. “I am so proud to be a strong and independent woman running a business in the Nambucca Valley,” Tamara told NOTA. “I have ridden the highs and lows of being in business in a small community. “I feel my community has supported me through my youth, raising my family and running my business. “I now have the time and space to give back to the Nambucca Valley community by being an ear that listens and the voice that connects the people.” Tamara also volunteers up to twenty hours a week with local not-for-profit entities and sits as a board member of Lifetime Connect. Inspired to run for council, Tamara said she has some “innovative ideas to help our community flourish”. She listed cost-of-living, infrastructure, the environment, arts and culture, and crime as key concerns and interests. “I have the knowledge and expertise to put forth the community’s needs to council and fight for what is right for the broader community,” Tamara said. “I feel communication is the key to a connected community and I am excited at the prospect of being that link of communication between the people and council.” For the election Tamara is running under her maiden name, ‘Castle’, rather than her more commonly used surname of ‘McWilliam’, however there is a simple explanation for this. “I have tried on numerous occasions to change my name throughout the fourteen years I have been married to my husband Robert. “Each time I vote I fill in a change of name declaration and unfortunately, it has never been changed. “I called the AEC when I decided to run for councillor, and they said the rolls were closed and I couldn’t change my name until after the election. “Thankfully, being a local, most people know me by both names.” Tamara McWilliam is a former reporter for News Of The Area.
