Mayor Rowena Abbey Stepping Down at the Next Election

Mayor Rowena Abbey recently announced that she will not be running for Mayor in our local council election in September this year.

Mayor Abbey has an excellent reputation across the NSW and Federal Government, and her decision has been met with regret. At the recent opening of the Yass to Murrumbateman Water Transfer Project, Deputy Prime Minister, Michael McCormack, Minister Melinda Pavey, and Senator Perin Davey all paid tribute to Mayor Abbey’s work representing the interests of the Yass Valley community.

The Deputy Prime Minister said, “I’ve had a long association with Rowena, and I’ve always admired her passion for her ability to get things done, her pushiness, and her yes, she’s been a fierce advocate for the Barton Highway. The Commonwealth and the NSW Government are getting on with that, with more than 100 million dollars of Commonwealth funding being put towards the project”.

Minister Pavey said “Rowena, there’s this terrible rumour that you are not running again to be Mayor. You have given 13 years of your life to this community, an extra year on what you probably wanted to do because of COVID. Thank you. Your legacy, along with Wendy Tuckerman’s and everybody who has worked together will really be the duplication work that is now taking place on the Barton Highway. It’s a credit to you all.”

Senator Davey also expressed her sadness that Mayor Abbey is stepping down “I have worked with Rowena on a couple of ventures, and have to say, what a powerful, forward-thinking woman. Such a loss to Yass, but not really, because she’s not actually moving away, and I’m sure that she’s got her sights set on bigger and better things,” she said.

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