Since we ran the article about our great John so is my bro..our site was bombarded. Especially people asking about the damn cool t shirt. What is going on John? John is getting his mojo flowing to the whole of melbourne. There was an eruption of cheers when he got introduce during the commonwealth games with brackcy only got a little pat on the finger tips. So what is he doing that is making us all go crazy. Being a businessman, the man knows how to make the city tick. Get more events going, people will come into the city, the buzz get going, people spend more money in restaurants and cafes, and round it goes………. what a genius. !!!!!!
All the “You want to know about John So”.

Introducing John So, Mayor of Melbourne
Melbourne businessman John So is Melbourne’s first popularly-elected Lord Mayor and was recently re-elected for a second consecutive term. John is one of Melbourne’s longest serving councillors. Before his election as Lord Mayor, he served three terms on the Melbourne City Council beginning in 1991 when he was first elected as a Central Ward Councillor.

Born in Hong Kong, Lord Mayor John So moved to Melbourne at the age of 17. Not long after settling in to Melbourne, he achieved his matriculation at University High School and then went on to complete a Bachelor of Science degree and a Diploma in Education from the University of Melbourne.

It was during his time as a university student that John first became involved in politics, forming the Overseas and Chinese Students Association and campaigning for the removal of the White Australia Policy. It was an early interest in social equity that would continue to see him represent the community on a broad range of business and social issues. After graduating, John taught science for eight years at a state secondary school, before starting his own business.

John is passionate about promoting the City of Melbourne and works to facilitate business opportunities in the city, and to stimulate tourism, culture and investment in Melbourne. His vision for Melbourne includes creating closer links between the city and the water, whether that is the Yarra River or Melbourne’s Docklands. He celebrates Melbourne’s waterfront opportunities and since first elected to Council has worked to shift part of the city’s focus to the water.

Always active in community affairs, John is particularly focused on projects for youth and older sections of the community. He is a Justice of the Peace, a former director of the Melbourne Water Corporation, patron of the Victorian Arts Centre and Chairman of the Victorian Chinese Welfare Centre. His ongoing involvement in various charities includes the Kidney Foundation, Cancer Council, Committee for Melbourne, Rotary, Lord Mayor’s Charitable Fund and the Bone Marrow Donor Institute.

A former Victorian Ethnic Affairs Commissioner, John is committed to ethnic community welfare issues. He celebrates Melbourne’s links with Asia and endorsed the city’s International Relationship program identifying Osaka and Tianjin as priorities within the sister city program. Through the Business Partner City Network, John promotes the development of business opportunities in all the major cities of the region.