Cr Stuart James lives in Oakleigh and is married with three daughters and a son.
Stuart represents the new Warrigal Ward.
He was first elected in 2016 to represent Oakleigh Ward, serving as Deputy Mayor in his first year on council. In November 2019, Stuart was elected as the 16th Mayor of the City of Monash, leading council through the COVID-19 pandemic, and re-elected for a second term as Mayor in 2021.
Stuart is a Board Member at the Municipal Association of Victoria, the Alliance for Gambling Reform, the Public Transport Users Association.
Stuart is a member of the following committees:
He represents Council on the following external body:
Background
Stuart’s grandparents on his mother’s side both came from working class families that worked on the railways. Following service in Borneo in WW2 his grandfather completed a university degree at WA university while working for Commercial Union Insurance Company. In 1953 he was offered a promotion to work in Melbourne and eventually rose to the position of CFO. On his father’s side, Stuart’s grandfather was the youngest of 14 children and came to Australia alone on a boat at the age of 15 initially working as an apprentice in shoe manufacturing and after enduring unemployment during the Great Depression spending the remainder of his working life with the Melbourne Tramways Board. Stuart’s grandmother left school at 14 and worked in sandwich shops. Lifelong residents of working-class Preston, they dedicated and spent their entire lives working hard to provide a better opportunity for their children. Despite limited access to quality education, Stuart’s father won State Government scholarships in years eight and ten at secondary school and a Commonwealth scholarship to University. This enabled his father to achieve his full potential in the corporate world, rising to the position of second in charge of the economics department at one of Australia’s top four banks.
The combination of educational opportunity for all and hard work as exhibited by both sides of Stuart’s family have been guiding principles for his own life, and his values and beliefs have been shaped by this family history. He has a deep sense of family commitment and hard work and has a great admiration and respect for those who have come from less fortunate backgrounds. He understands that what makes and sustains Australia as a great country is that it provides equal opportunity to all residents, regardless of their economic, political, or religious status.
Stuart completed his VCE at Carey Baptist Grammar, has a Bachelor of Information Management from Monash University and has worked in the IT Industry for almost 20 years. Stuart is a success-orientated IT professional with broad industry knowledge, performing leading roles in various national organisations. He is known as an accomplished leader with effective communication and people management skills, driving innovation and strategic business direction. Stuart manages more than 100 different corporate networks Australia wide and has an in-depth understanding of the underlying network infrastructure that is critical to business. He has an extensive knowledge of a myriad of different programming languages and databases and has developed leading-edge software solutions for both corporate and community use.
Stuart has an extensive involvement in sporting organisations. He has served on the member disciplinary and appeals committee for the Melbourne Cricket Club since 2017. He served six years as the President of the Eastern Districts Pool League, has been the President of the South Eastern Pool League since 2003, is the co-founder the Village Green Pool Club in Notting Hill and has served as its President, Vice President and Secretary. He is a former Chairman of a Body Corporate and sat on the board for almost ten years. Stuart is very passionate about the Arts and theatre. He spent many years running lighting desks in theatrical productions, studied theatre during his IT Degree and regularly attends local productions.
Key achievements and focus
Stuart’s main focus on council has been on improving services for local families and building a stronger and more connected community.
When his youngest daughter was born, Stuart’s wife was informed that mothers groups were only available for first time mothers. In response, Stuart worked closely with officers to develop a new playgroup concept in Cabena Cresent in Chadstone which morphed into Child and Family Hubs which are now rolling out in key areas across Monash including Mulgrave, Oakleigh South, Pinewood and Mt Waverley providing kindergartens, playgroups, maternal and child health, and specialist mental health services.
Stuart has also focused on building and redeveloping playgrounds and has been heavily involved in the development and budget bids around the dedicated cycling between Scotchman’s Creek and Djerring Trails. In 2018, Council revisited an old plan to revitalise the immediate area around both sides of Oakleigh Station, a project that Stuart has been working passionately on since that time and hoping to deliver in the 2024-2028 term.
Stuart is a proud local resident and believes that Monash is the perfect place to raise his young family. He believes that community consultation and working closely with residents is the best way to ensure that Monash remains the best place to work, live and play. He encourages people to get in touch should they have any ideas, suggestions or concerns.