WESTWOOD CALLS TIME ON COUNCIL STINT
KINGBOROUGH Deputy Mayor Jo Westwood won’t be running for council again and has called for change in local government.
Ms Westwood, who was elected in 2018, said she needed to focus on her personal life.
“I’m not a career politician,” she said. “I’m a mum, I’ve got four children and I’ve got another job.
“The juggle is at times quite difficult. I’m lucky to have a really strong support network.”
Ms Westwood hoped there would be more representation for families.
“The playground is one of the examples of what can happen when you have a younger demographic,” she said.
“A large portion of our population is families.
“There's a real need to focus on track and trails, and playgrounds, and making sure Kingborough can deal with the growing pains.”
Ms Westwood is the second Kingborough councillor to reveal they would not be recontesting, after longstanding councillor David Grace told the Mercury he needed to settle down due to his health.
It also comes after an explosive row between Ms Westwood and Mr Grace in June.
The council meeting erupted into chaos after Ms Westwood, who was chair at the time, told Mr Grace to leave after his repeated interjections.
The situation escalated with Ms Westwood threatening to call police and Mr Grace threatening to “tear this place apart”.
Ms Westwood said she would like to see the code of conduct for councillors strengthened.
“I’ve had my own experiences with one councillor in particular who has a history of bad behaviour, but on one occasion was caught on YouTube and that went viral across the nation,” she said. “I don’t think I ever anticipated being captured on
Clementine Ford’s Instagram account.
“Currently there is higher scrutiny on people who volunteer to serve sausages at children’s fundraising events than there are on elected representatives.”
Ms Westwood said there was also a need for better checks.
“I’d like to see things like a working with vulnerable people’s check and a criminal-background check for councillors before they commence in their roles,” she said.
“And I’d like to see more training given to councillors so they know what they’re getting themselves into and they know what the standard is of an elected representative.”