Second-chance duo roll up their sleeves
GEELONG’S Kardinia Ward has returned two previously sacked councillors to the City of Greater Geelong.
Bruce Harwood and Ron Nelson were members of the council kicked out by the State Government last year, but will now get a chance to get back to work on council after sharing more than 40 per cent of the first preference votes.
Former Bendigo Bank manager Pat Murnane won the third spot in the ward, which covers the area south of the Barwon River.
Councillor-elect Ron Nelson wasted no time in criticising the trio of administrators who had replaced the previous councillors for the past 18 months.
“The administrators have left council with a huge debt, which they’ve cost-shifted into following budgets, which is the real disappointment,” Mr Nelson said yesterday.
The comment came after Mr Nelson said he had “no choice” but to run in the council election, claiming the administrators were “chipping away” at the community’s rights.
Mr Nelson said he was looking forward to getting back on with the job of representing his community.
“Obviously I’m very happy with the result, (I’m) proud and humbled to be re-elected,” he said.
“We’ve got to focus on core responsibilities now, as a council, and I’m confident we can work together as a team to achieve those.”
Mr Nelson also signalled he would not throw his hat in the ring for a run at being elected mayor.
Returning councillor Bruce Harwood — also a former mayor of the city — said it was important to remember the councillors running for re-election had been cleared of wrongdoing. “The Victorian chief municipal monitor actually cleared all the previous councillors who have run in this election, cleared of any breaches. I think that’s important to note,” he said yesterday.
Mr Harwood said he planned to continue to develop positive relationships with council officers.
“I’ve always got on well with all council officers,” he said. “I’ve never had any issues and I don’t intend to change that.”
Mr Harwood said he was looking forward to again seeing the community be given a voice in their council.
“I think first and foremost, having a community voice back and being able to act on what the community are directly saying (is a priority),” he said.
The Geelong Advertiser was unable to contact Mr Murnane over the weekend to discuss his election win. In September, he said he was an independent who wanted to ensure that city’s social and economic divide was not widened.