Mr Mahony migrated to Australia in the 60's when he was a child with his Irish Mother and Father from East London.

Growing up, Mr Mahony had many interests, one that he was pursued was natural resource management, where he works with farmers, the government, in the private sector and local council's.

"One of the many things I do is look at weed management and farming makeup in the Blue Mountains," he said.

"I know how big organisations work well as well as their opportunities and limits."

Mr Mahony attended all the council meetings for the past 18 months to make sure he understood what the workload was and that he would be able to put his 100 percent into the job.

Coming out of the campaign, Mr Mahony wrote a long list of everything everyone had told him.

"It's taking some time but I'm trying to get back and talk to them so I can get a better idea and advocate for them," he said.

"I think we need to advocate for these smaller communities that can get lost in the business of council, towns like Capertee, Cullen Bullen, Rydal, Tarana, Dark Corner, all the voices need to be heard in the process."

Mr Mahony has been a grant writer for over 25 years, something he feels will be of great benefit to Lithgow Council.

"We need to manage grants and really work with our state and federal governments to maximise financial assistance for Council," he said.

"I saw a role to work in council to achieve positive results for the community, and how we can improve the services for residents in our LGA, I think I bring a level of experience to council."

Mr Mahony said they need to make sure the employment base is strong and look at organisations to see if they can offer cadetships and traineeships to keep workers local.

"I would like to review our policy on how council works with businesses so that we can train businesses and equip them to be more affective tenders," he said.

Tourism was another focus that Mr Mahony wanted to bring to council.

"We need to support local tourism, I want to see the cafes busy and you have to book for a seat and we have some of the most beautiful natural landscapes here in the Lithgow region," he said.

"We have to build on our art and creative industry, we have the Union Theatre, Tin Shed, Gang Gang Gallery, Queen Elizabeth Park, and the ever growing Foundations, so the community is investing and we need to help them out."

But Mr Mahony knows that infrastructure, in particular roads needs to be a focus in the community.

"My first motion to council will actually be about the storm water and sewerage management, which is a big concern after the floods in recent weeks," he said.

"My second motion is about mental health services and having the new council re-affirm it's strong position on mental health, as well as thanking our mental health workers."

As for Mr Mahony's thoughts on the Great Western Highway upgrade, he said he has heard from people living in the Hartley Village as well as the Hartley District Progress Association.

"I think it is important to deal with the congestion at Blackheath, and I agree they should do it in stages to get a good Blackheath result, but Hartley isn't the issue, and I'm not convinced the travel time saved will make up for the money spent," he said.

"I'll need a lot of convincing that the Hartley element is worth it, so I am happy to represent Hartley and be a reference point for those voices that need to be heard, because their point is valid."

Mr Mahony said he was happy to support the industrial landscape, seeing what they were doing out at Wallerawang with GREENSpot as well as Fairview in Lithgow.

"I do not support the waste incinerator, I have friends who work with people who come in with chronic health issues and I'm not convinced the tech is there to keep everyone safe," he said.

"Lithgow shouldn't be a place for others left overs, we should look at other options."

Mr Mahony said the first council meeting, on January 24 already had some issues that were testing his thinking and beliefs.

"I need to maintain my beliefs and values, it is testing on what to vote for, but I will make my decision making based on my merit base and values," he said.

"I'm not someone waiting on property to become available, I'm just a bloke from Oakey Park and what to bring forward my values into the community."

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