By Casey Neill
Councillor Zaynoun Melhem has always lived in Dandenong.
It was the 26-year-old Silverleaf Ward representative’s Lebanese-born grandparents who first called the suburb home.
“I would have over 20 cousins and 15 aunties and uncles in Dandenong, at least,” he said.
“Now we’re starting to spread out.
“My grandparents live off Jacksons Road. They’ve been there since all the kids were born.
“It’s a great community.
“Growing up, I got to see City of Dandenong merge with City of Springvale to become the City of Greater Dandenong.
“I was there for my dad’s mayoralty period and I got to see the impacts he had.”
His dad, Naim, was quite excited to see Zaynoun follow in his footsteps at last October’s local government election.
“He let me do my own thing, really,” Cr Melhem said.
“He said ‘go with it. If you win, you win. If you lose, you learn from your experiences’.”
He ran unsuccessfully once before, when he was 22. This time he took the spot of retiree John Kelly.
“Now when I go home at night, on Monday nights at 10.30, I have a bit of deja vu,” he said.
“I remember waiting up for my dad on Monday nights.
“He used to bring me along to council meetings with him.
“I used to come and watch him.
“I did my work experience with City of Greater Dandenong when I was in Year 10.”
Cr Melhem said about 40 council staff members remember him being by his dad’s side or completing his work experience.
“I think it’s about, I got involved in the community at such a young age and saw the impact council had,” he said.
“I think there’s just so much we can do.
“It’s really important to stress as well that it’s good to work with someone like (ward mate) Maria (Sampey).
“She’s got a lot of experience and a connection to her generation in the ward.
“I bring a connection to a different generation.”
He said councillors, past and present, were helping him to find his feet, including several of his dad’s colleagues.
“Sometimes, you don’t want to go back to your dad and ask him – it’s too close to home,” he said.
“All the councillors have asked if I’ve needed any help. They’re all your mentors.
“Everybody wants to work for the community.
“I feel quite lucky with that.”
Cr Melhem said integration was a key focus, “working with youths from other countries and people who’ve migrated to Greater Dandenong who need help – who need to find jobs, who need to find schooling”.
“I think integration is going to help a lot with unemployment, with understanding people in the community and removing stigmas,” he said.
“People say Dandenong is dangerous or there’s a lot of gang activity in Dandenong.
“I think that’s all about getting community involvement where community involvement never really happened before.”
The mayor’s Youth Employment Taskforce is of particular interest.
“I think it’s a really important project,” he said.
Cr Melhem grew up playing footy in Dandenong, for Silverton Football Club and Northvale, and went to Mulgrave Primary School and Nazareth College.
“My wife grew up in Outlook Drive,” he said.
“We went to school together.
“We’re just literally so ingrained in the community.”
