Andrew Fechner may only be 27 – as of Sunday – but he has a long history with Ipswich City Council.
The new Division 3 councillor was a member of the Ipswich Youth Advisory Council dating back 10 years ago.
His role back then on the youth council as a St Edmund’s College student saw him work closely with Cr Sheila Ireland, who was re-elected at the March 2020 local government election.
“It is a funny twist of events and she is still offering me all that sagely advice. It is quite serendipitous,” Cr Fechner said this week on the eve of his first official council meeting.
Even after a spell on IYAC, he never thought more about a career in politics.
However, he continued to work closely with council over the past five years as owner of two popular Top of Town spots, Heisenberg House restaurant and Tighty Whities café.
“As a business operator, you learn the ins and outs of dealing with council … depending on how you operate, you can be quite involved with council,” he said.
The relationship between business and bureaucracy was all positive as Heisenberg House and Tighty Whities have been success stories in the CBD while others have come and gone during an era of downturn.
Cr Fechner said he had enjoyed a collaborative approach with his parents in the business which had enabled them to grow, providing jobs and supporting the local community.
“We enjoy the ongoing support of our loyal customers and I feel very positive about the future and what is happening in Top of Town.
“There are some good business operators there. If you are prepared to work hard, then you will reap the rewards. A lot of people might be negative about Top of Town and the CBD and the lack of investment, but there are people who are fighting the good fight and who believe in the city. We just need to turn around the negative narrative.”
Cr Fechner, Ipswich born and raised, said he is encouraged by the development in and around the Nicholas Street refurbishment and the positives it will bring for the region.
His election platform stated that running people-centric businesses in the hospitality industry, he had the opportunity to listen to the stories of thousands of residents and understands the people of Ipswich want more for their city. He is acutely aware that now is the time to be the voice of change they deserve.
And be a strong voice for young people in the city.
He was 26 when elected as one of two to represent Division 3. Cr Marnie Doyle was also elected in that division.
Fellow councillor Jacob Madsen, 27, temporarily took the claim-to-fame as Ipswich’s youngest councillor in history as he was sworn in three minutes before Cr Fechner last week.
But the mantle was handed over soon after and Cr Fechner proudly takes the title. He said leadership gained from St Edmund’s, being part of the youth council and running businesses had put him in a good position to do well on council.
“I am already loving it,” he said after two weeks of combining all roles.
“We have been thrown in at the deep end, but we have an important job to do for the people of Ipswich. We need to make sure every decision we make is well researched and benefits the city. We need to do something positive for the city and make an impact over the next four years.”
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I am hoping that this new council will spend more ratepayers money on the northside of town, instead of it all going to the GreaterSpringfield area.. We were told we would have proper guttter and channelling in our area about ten years ago , but this has not happened. We also desperately need that new bridge which was in the pipeline but continually shoved onto the backburner..
I congratulate the council members on their election and hope Ipswich will be a much better place in the future.