Mayoral races reach business end

Decisions made by voters inside the City of Perth boundaries will be of interest to residents across the suburbs after polls close for the local government election on October 21.

The council has experienced a tumultuous few years and remains in the spotlight following the well-documented state government inquiry launched in 2018.

Incumbent City of Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas has put his hand up for another term, telling Business News he wanted to see the next chapter through, following a recalibration of the city after the inquiry, the findings of which were tabled in parliament by then local government minister David Templeman in August 2020.

Mr Zempilas’s biggest rival is city councillor and former deputy mayor Sandy Anghie, who announced her intention to challenge the incumbent lord mayor for a four-year term in May.

Mrs Anghie said her first run as a mayoral candidate had taught her she needed to start her campaign earlier and be well prepared.

In her campaign material, the Australian Institute of Architects WA president repeatedly said she would not be distracted by state politics, take cheap shots at the state government, or use the mayoral role as a steppingstone to other political aspirations.

When asked whether that statement fuelled claims Mr Zempilas would be handpicked by the Liberal Party WA as a political candidate ahead of the 2025 election, Mrs Anghie deflected, saying the slogan was a reference to her own priorities.

“Well, that’s my focus. I’ll leave others to comment on that,” Mrs Anghie told Business News.

“But my commitment to the people of Perth is to serve full time for a full term.

“I’m not a member of any political party. I don’t have ambitions for state or federal politics.

“It’s disruptive as well. Obviously elections cost money, and it’s a distraction to the city and to ratepayers.

“They want to see stable, transparent leadership over the next four years.”

Mrs Anghie said concerns about the city being weaponised for a political run in the future had been raised by ratepayers and businesses.

For his part, Mr Zempilas maintains that the upcoming election is the only one he is focusing on.

“I am not a member of any political party, have never been a member of any political party,” Mr Zempilas told Business News.

“I take it as a compliment that people choose to throw my name out, because they have seen me operate as a leader of the city of Perth.

“I understand why people might put two and two together, but that’s not two and two that I’d ever put together.

“Until such time as the person themself says, ‘that’s what I think I might like to do’, or decides that’s what they’re going to put their name forward to do, I’m not certain how anyone else can speculate or not speculate … I’m not certain how anyone else can say with certainty that’s what that person is doing.

“I’m absolutely pleased to be able to say that not a single person – not one person – has asked me over the last two months ‘do you have further political ambitions?’.

“What that tells me is that it’s not the issue among our community that some people are trying to make it.

“I go into this feeling optimistic about my chances of winning another term.”

A Seven West Media sports announcer at the time, Mr Zempilas was elected mayor in 2020 as part of an overhaul of the previous council, which had been led by Lisa Scaffidi.

The council had been suspended in March 2018, with the subsequent inquiry running for nearly a year. It found there was a gross failure to provide good government at the city.

Mr Zempilas said the city was on the brink of a magnificent phase of its development, coming out of turmoil.

New name

High-profile names aren’t the only ones jockeying for the lord mayoral post.

Take 24-year-old Will Leyland, a music graduate from University of Western Australia and resident of Crawley.

Mr Leyland, the only mayoral candidate who lives in the city, acknowledged he was standing against two experienced businesspeople with sizeable portfolios.

“I’m not on a high income. I’m working part time in a bottle shop so I can pay my rent while I’m getting out meeting people,” he said.

“As high profile as it is and as political as it can be, particularly with the City of Perth, at the end of the day it’s a local electorate.

“People feel a bit distant from the people who represent them sometimes. A lot of [the job] is actually communication and long-term strategic vision.”

Despite the differences, both Mr Zempilas and Mr Leyland were on the same page on the biggest change the city faced.

Mr Leyland said the city needed to cater for an aggressive, sustainable residential expansion for the long term.

“The city needs to be catering to the people who need to live here,” he said.

“There’s a lot that needs to be done to make sure there’s community cohesion; that people from different groups and different age ranges and different incomes and backgrounds are talking together.

“For me, figuring out how we can facilitate connection is a very, very important part of attracting more residential – increasing the residential population and attracting the healthier investment.”

Mr Zempilas similarly said the strategy, in the simplest terms, was ‘more people’.

“We want to capture more people living within the City of Perth,” he said.

“Presently we’re at 33,000. We’d like to be at 50,000 by 2036 and 90,000 by 2050. So, they are ambitious targets.

“A large chunk of the people we’re looking for are going to be delivered courtesy of the ECU redevelopment.

“Imagine them living and therefore shopping, recreating, and ultimately working their odd jobs around university; whether it’s in hospitality or in any of the other industries.

“Imagine the profound effect that will have on our city.”

Mrs Anghie said the biggest change the city needed was a full-time, full-term mayor; it’s a phrase she has often repeated over the course of the campaign.

Her priorities, she said, were to make a 24-hour city and resume the city’s central planning committee, which involves the Western Australian Planning Commission, that had stopped meeting regularly.

“If I was lord mayor, it would be a top priority to get that [committee] going again and get that conversation and collaboration really happening between the state and the city,” Mrs Anghie said.

“If someone is distracted by state politics, then that perhaps is not yet such a focus.

“The other thing I hear time and time again is that we don’t have a plan for Perth, and this is really critical.

“The 24-hour city concept doesn’t necessarily mean nightclubs and bars … it means people actively engaged in the city and more residents.

“We need to really transition our city from a central business district into a central living district and a central entertainment district.”

All of the candidates noted the issues plaguing the city – mainly the vacancy rate and homelessness – and have incorporated their strategies to combat those issues in their campaign material.

Neither Mr Zempilas nor Mrs Anghie have nominated for councillor, meaning it’s lord mayor or bust, for both.

Mr Leyland has nominated for lord mayor and a seat on council.

When asked whether they would run for lord mayor again if successful on October 21, only Mrs Anghie confidently confirmed.

“If the people of Perth would have me again, absolutely,” she said.

Mr Leyland said he couldn’t guarantee it, but a re-run was probable.

“I’m probably going to run again but you never know,” he said.

“I think it’s important to have that openness.”

Meanwhile, Mr Zempilas admitted he had not thought that far ahead but said he was not against running again if he was successful this time.

A new mayor for City of Vincent is guaranteed with Emma Cole (pictured) not seeking a re-election this year. Photo: David Henry

Metro areas

There’s plenty happening outside of the City of Perth, with several metropolitan councils in the spotlight over incidents during the campaigning period.

Canning

The City of Canning received ample media attention when incumbent Mayor Patrick Hall claimed he conducted a citizen’s arrest after his election signs were stolen.

Canning councillor and mayoral contender Jesse Jacobs had been charged with stealing election material but has denied his involvement.

In the September council meeting, Mr Hall addressed the “elephant in the room” and asked Mr Jacobs to leave the chambers.

Mr Jacobs remained seated until the end of the meeting.

Other mayoral candidates include Peter Clayton, Barry Graham, and Mr Hall’s predecessor Paul Ng.

Melville

Seven people are vying for the role of mayor in the City of Melville, with four candidates serving in the current council.

Tension has run high in Melville, particularly with councillor Clive Ross suing Mayor George Gear for defamation earlier this year.

Both have nominated themselves for mayor.

Former Melville mayor Russell Aubrey has also put his hat in the ring, after being ousted by Mr Gear in the 2019 elections.

Joondalup

There won’t be a mayoral election in the City of Joondalup this year but there is still a long list of candidates covering the six wards of the local government.

In the south-west ward, former Liberal Party chief of staff Colin Edwardes has nominated to be a councillor.

Mr Edwardes worked for former premier Colin Barnett and former leader of the opposition Liza Harvey.

He is married to former Richard Court-government minister Cheryl Edwardes.

Football West strategic adviser and former WA government trade commissioner Stuart Crockett is on the ballot for the central ward.

Cambridge, Nedlands

Two prominent western suburbs mayors are up for re-election.

Town of Cambridge Mayor Keri Shannon is looking for another term but will have to fend off five other candidates.

The city has attracted some attention in the past, several years after being subject to a state government inquiry and recently topping the list of Local Government Standards Panel complaints.

Former state politician Anthony Fels, Basil Palassis, and Cambridge councillors Gary Mack, Xavier Carr, and Jane Cutler are also running for mayor.

City of Nedlands Mayor Fiona Argyle was also in hot water for her campaign recently, having to delete some of her social media posts.

She is running against her fellow council members Noel Youngman and Ben Hodsdon.

The three mayoral challengers have not always had good interactions, having lodged complaints about each other.

Vincent

City of Vincent Mayor Emma Cole will not be seeking re-election, leaving the post up for grabs for four candidates.

The mayoral contenders are current councillors Ron Alexander and Suzanne Worner, former Greens MP Alison Xamon, and long-term resident Amanda Madden.

Mr Alexander was a director general of the Department of Sport and Recreation.

Leading the inner-city council of Vincent had been the start for some Labor politicians, including John Hyde, Nick Catania, Alannah MacTiernan and John Carey.