Generous, visionary, experienced, larger than life.
Some of the terms used to describe the late Jim Aitken this week, as Councillors paid tribute to the former Mayor and local business icon at Monday’s Ordinary Meeting.
Aitken was a staple on Penrith City Council where he served for 28 years, during which he was elected as Mayor in 2008-2009 and twice as Deputy Mayor in 2010-2011 and 2013-2014.
Aitken resigned from Council last year after battling ill health for a period. He passed away in September at the age of 76.
In what was the first opportunity for Councillors to pay tribute to Aitken in the Council chambers, Mayor Todd Carney acknowledged the dedication Aitken gave to his local community.
“Jim always had the community at heart, giving back through his church community and the Penrith Valley Rotary Club. For more than 20 years, he ran the Penrith City Carols, working closely with Rotary clubs, and was presented with a Rotary Service Medal,” Carney said.
“His vision of making positive contributions to his community through his business and his role as Councillor allowed him to serve those in need. This was demonstrated in his advocacy for children with disabilities.
“He was a generous man and brought a pragmatic approach to council discussions, as well as passionate enthusiasm for our community’s need and interests.”
Deputy Mayor Ross Fowler recognised the loss of Aitken and said he was a good advocate in the community.
“I had the pleasure of being on Council for those 28 years… and got to know Jim fairly well. He was a person of many and varied interests that if you looked at it and said what were his main interests you could probably say Council for one, community for two, business for three and most importantly family for four,” he said.
“Penrith has certainly lost a remarkable person who was passionate about what he did, and he went about doing what he did with a vision and certainly extreme effort, and he put into what he did his whole heart and everything. He is certainly going to be missed by Penrith.”
Labor’s John Thain spoke about Atiken’s character.
“I spent about 20 years on Council with Councillor Aitken and I’ve got to say I always found Jim a very interesting bloke,” he said.
“I attended his funeral and it was incredibly well attended, which is a tribute [from] the community of Penrith to Jim and [shows] how much he would be missed.”
New Councillor Garion Thain shared his memories of Aitken, someone he has known for his whole life.
“The year he was elected to Council was the year that I was born,” he said.
“I remember a very generous and larger than life man. Penrith has lost an experienced and passionate advocate.”
New Councillor Hollie McLean shared a story of Aitken helping her in a time of need.
“I’m one of the few around here who never had the privilege of meeting him in person. I have a very different experience – I’m one of the people he helped find housing in Penrith,” McLean said.
“When I moved here 10 years ago, I was really struggling like most people do finding a rental… I was calling around real estate agents asking, ‘Can you help me?’… And do you know who called me back? It was Jim himself.
“He then helped me… go through the listings and find somewhere that was going to be suitable. It was because of him that I was able to find something in a timeframe that was actually really quick.”
Emily Chate
Emily Chate joined The Western Weekender in 2024, and covers local news - primarily courts and politics. A graduate of the University of Wollongong, Emily has contributed to The Daily Telegraph and worked as a freelance journalist.