Rockingham in safe hands with deputy

It was after the death of her beloved only son that Rockingham Deputy Mayor Deb Hamblin first put her hand up for the position.

Deb said she needed something to keep her busy in the years after 25-year-old Matthew tragically died in a scuba-diving accident in Indonesia in 2009.

The well-known councillor and Rockingham Community Campus librarian said her way of dealing with the grief that followed was to throw herself into her work and take on extra challenges.

"People deal with grief in different ways and I suppose mine was to throw myself into work," Deb said.

"Matt had achieved a lot despite only being 25 when he died. People loved him, he was a real beauty.

"When I nominated for deputy mayor in 2011, it was really to fill a void."

Now, after a two-year hiatus from the position Deb is back for a second stint as second-in-charge.

Deb said she decided to run for council in 2005 because she wanted to work to build the reputation of Rockingham.

She said she had been passionate about education throughout her career, having held her position with Murdoch University since 1998, and wanted to help lift the aspirations of the city's residents through working to promote learning.

"The City has since implemented the Learning City Strategy, which aims to promote learning from improving literacy at childcare centres, to providing learning opportunities for seniors," Deb said.

"Our average ATAR score is gradually improving and, as deputy mayor, I will go along to some of the school graduations soon.

"I give out the Matthew Hamblin Memorial Scholarship at his old school Kolbe Catholic College every year too."

While there have been many proud moments throughout her decade on council, including advocating for an improved Rockingham Shopping Centre, Deb said making decisions on behalf of the city could be tough.

She said she felt fortunate to work alongside a strong team of councillors who each had different personalities and different views, but could come to sound decisions.

"It is a big responsibility and you think a lot about whether you got it right," Deb said.

"Sometimes you just have to do what you think is best for the city, even if people tell you that what you have done is the wrong thing."

Deb said she was pleased to have been re-elected deputy mayor again late last month, because she could work to promote Rockingham outside of the city as well as in.

She said she liked the idea of having a councillor of each gender leading the City - Barry Sammels is now the longest-serving mayor in WA - because it showed people both men and women were valued equally.

"The mayor gets so many requests to go to things. I don't know how he does it," Deb said.

"I don't think people realise sometimes how passionate he is about Rockingham. I think we complement each other in that."

Deb, who described herself as an enthusiastic person who loved people, said she hoped she was fortunate enough to be re-elected to council in 2017.

She said she believed there was still much work to be done.

Sometimes you just have to do what you think is best for the city, even if people tell you that what you have done is the wrong thing. Deb Hamblin