Former Whakatāne Mayor Victor Luca was officially sworn in as the Eastern Bay’s new regional councillor on Monday.

The swearing in was held at a meeting of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council in Whakatāne.

The event was attended by Luca’s family, represented by his mother Cletia and brother Gino, and long-time supporters, Raewyn Kingsley Smith and Sandy Milne.

Eastern Bay mayors and Whakatāne District Council senior managers also attended the event.

Luca thanked them all for his “unwavering belief in me”.

“Of course, I’d like to thank the 3500 or so voters who regarded me as worthy of their trust.

“As I stated in 2019, [When he was voted onto Whakatāne District Council] I’m not just here for those who voted for me, I’m here for everybody.

“I’m a guy that takes his commitments seriously, and I’ll do my utmost to deliver what I committed to, and in this case it was objective, careful, evidence-based decision-making that benefits as many in the community as possible.”

He said he was cognisant of the fact that he was joining a chamber ensemble of 14 and looked forward to working with his regional council colleagues.

“Each has a new unique voice and plays a different instrument, to which I’ll be now adding my own unique voice.

“The hope is that whilst each member will play their part in the school, we’ll all make beautiful music together.

“The instrument I play, of course, is a scientific one,” he said.

He looked forward to making a contribution in the area that he had worked in for over 30 years.

“The success of the human species, if you can call it that, has in a large part come from flexibility, the ability to communicate, advanced cognitive abilities and the ability to collaborate and cooperate.

“I also think that diversity of thought has been and always will be an essential element on any ensemble of humans.

“I pride myself on being an independent thinker and have no intention to change that and I don’t think anyone here wants me to.”

He acknowledged the late Malcolm Campbell, whose regional council position he was replacing.

“He always led me to believe that he held me in very high regard, and I’ll do my best to justify the faith he had in me.”

Luca spoke of the challenges ahead, including climate change, government reforms and impending central government elections, both in New Zealand and abroad.

“There are other elections going on in November which will undoubtedly impact all of us.”