Liverpool City Council has appointed one of its own as chief executive officer, Jason Breton, who can see his childhood home from his new office in Civic Place.
He has been appointed CEO after 12 months in the job in an acting capacity.
Mr Breton, a former police officer, joined Liverpool City Council as director of operations in 2022.
With his brother (now a local magistrate) and his parents, they lived in a two-bedroom unit in one of Liverpool’s toughest neighbourhoods, Nagle Street.
His tough early life included a period of family homelessness spent in Lansdowne Caravan Park at Warwick Farm and a series of rental homes in Casula.
He knows the tough side of Liverpool and its communities from the ground up.
When his mother contracted terminal cancer and his parents left the city for the bush, the two brothers (by now both Constables in the NSW Police Force) shared a unit in Hart Street, Warwick Farm.
They both played hockey at Clinches Pond, Moorebank, football for the Liverpool City Robins and then later for Southern Districts at Ern Smith Reserve.
Promoted through the ranks to Sergeant he served locally at Green Valley Police Station in late 2000 before joining the detective branch and progressing through the ranks to Detective Chief Inspector.
After gaining a master’s degree in risk management, Mr Breton launched himself into a new career path that has now led him back to the top job at the place he grew up.
“My red mullet and BMX bike are no longer seen in Liverpool, but I am now proud to walk its streets as the new CEO of Liverpool City Council,’’ he said following his appointment.
“Liverpool has some work to do now to emerge as one of the country’s most important regions,’’ he said.
“Taking over as the CEO of Liverpool City Council is a huge responsibility and not without its challenges.
“The area is fast-growing, multicultural, politically complex, and undergoing rapid urban development.
“However I know my team well, they know me, and in the short term I will be concentrating on improving our frontline operations, so that our residents get the level of service they deserve.’’
