CANDIDATE / YOU YANGS WARD / 2028
David Greenwood OAM is a Lara resident, founder of CentreStage, and long-time community advocate. He's running for the City of Greater Geelong council in 2028 — and working in the ward every week between now and then.
01 / The pitch
The You Yangs Ward is Geelong's largest by area — Lara, Avalon, Anakie, Lovely Banks, and the working farmland in between. It deserves the same care, footpaths, and listening as the inner suburbs. Three things I'll do first.
I've spent more than 35 years in Geelong, and 15 of those building things in this region — a theatre company that employs a hundred locals, an IT and office technology business, and years on committees and fundraising drives that have raised more than $1 million for local charities.
I ran for the You Yangs Ward in 2024 and came up short. In the four years between then and the next ballot I'm not going quiet — I'm in the ward every week, in rooms with the people who actually live here.
Read the full bio →An open office on Hamilton Highway. Suburb walks every fortnight. Phone goes through to me, not a staffer.
Every dollar of council money in You Yangs should be traceable to a project, a date, and a person responsible. No exceptions for legacy projects.
Local resident groups, the CFA, the schools, the sports clubs. Council exists to support them — not to take credit for what they deliver.
02 / Track record
Thirty-five years in Geelong. Fifteen of them building businesses and giving back. The numbers below are public — they come from CentreStage's annual reports, the Geelong Business Excellence Awards, and the Order of Australia honours list.
03 / Latest
Recent writing from the ward alongside the record behind it — planning explainers, community reports, and the honours and awards that came before. New articles posted as they happen.
Honour the men of 1942, raise money for veteran welfare, and walk the You Yangs with your town.
Read the article →
Seven then-and-now pairs — the strip, the station, the shire, and what each one says about how a farming town became a growth corridor.
Read the article →
Every major project — under construction, approved, awaiting a decision — and the private money behind it.
Read the article →
The car park that fills by seven, the buses that don't connect, and the fixes that would actually help.
Read the article →
Why fixing a road early costs a fraction of fixing it late — and which ward roads are in the expensive zone.
Read the article →
The $16m upgrade, eight years of timeline, and the nickname about to become history.
Read the article →Flat causeway paths across saltmarsh, internationally significant birdlife, and the best view of the You Yangs anywhere in Greater Geelong.
Read the guide →
Dozens of cars hit across Geelong. Half a million dollars buys about eight council camera poles — or thousands of subsidised cameras where it's actually happening.
Read the proposal →
What you'll actually see, which trail suits your group, the best time of day to go, and how to give yourself the best chance of a brolga.
Read the guide →
On restraint, resilience and public life — why choosing not to respond isn't an admission, and what resilience actually looks like day to day.
Read the reflection →
Filter eight tracks by grade, time and access — with realistic walk times, the views worth the climb, and a packing list you can tick off.
Open the guide →
No answer from your councillor or MP? The escalation ladder that works — reasonable timeframes, public question time, and the formal avenues available.
Read the guide →
ABOUT DAVID
David Greenwood OAM has lived in Geelong for more than 35 years, with the last decade in Lara. He founded CentreStage Performing Arts Academy in 2010 — now Australia's largest amateur musical theatre company — and runs Elevate Technology Solutions, supporting Geelong businesses with IT and office technology.
In 2024 he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia. In 2025 he was named the Geelong Chamber's Youth Entrepreneur of the Year. In 2028, he's standing for council.
The full story →04 / Three pledges
Two commitments that hold for every political endeavour David undertakes — written down, checkable, and binding for as long as the website is online. Read the full Transparency page for the auditor on the record, the conflicts register, and the signed pledge.
CentreStage and Elevate Technology Solutions submit to an independent annual audit — by personal choice, not because either is required to. The auditor and the most recent statement are named on the Transparency page.
See the auditor & reports →Both businesses, every board seat, every property, every membership, every family interest — listed in full on the Transparency page. Updated within seven days of any new relevant interest. Nothing held back, nothing waved off as too small.
See the conflicts register →David has never accepted a sponsorship, payment, incentive, or "good will" gesture in exchange for political favour or support — and he never will. This pledge is signed and dated on the Transparency page.
Read & verify the pledge →David has spent more than 35 years in Geelong, quietly making it better — a theatre company that employs locals, committees and fundraising that have raised more than $1 million for local charities, doors he knocks on every weekend. He's the kind of person who should be on council.
AS COVERED IN
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