THE mayor has been busted.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Warrnambool mayor Kylie Gaston has been brought to task over using her mayoral car for electioneering.
Cr Gaston’s breach was pointed out to her after the council received an email that had a photograph attached showing her putting up one of her election posters at a private property near the Jamieson Street roundabout.
Another attached photograph showed Cr Gaston’s mayoral car parked nearby.
Cr Gaston said she had not realised she was breaching the rules because she thought the ban on using council resources for electioneering came into effect when the council went into caretaker phase prior to the October elections.
The council goes into caretaker phase on last day for nominations for councillor positions, which is Tuesday, September 20.
Cr Gaston apologised to the community for her oversight and said she had paid the council $50 for her use of the car to put up election posters last week not only near the Jamieson Street roundabout but also in Henna Street and Wollaston Road.
“I am not making any excuses,” Cr Gaston said of her breach.
She said she was shocked that someone had taken photographs of her while she was putting up an election poster but promised to abide by the rules in future.
She had since used a private car to do door knocking and other electioneering, she said.
She said her breach was pointed out to her by the council’s governance officer after the council received an email from someone with a good knowledge of the Local Government Act,
The reporting of Cr Gaston’s breach of regulations reflects the intense nature of this year’s Warrnambool City Council elections.
At least 22 people have so far announced their intention to stand for the seven councillor positions at Warrnambool.
The big field is seen as a move for change after the council has wracked by in-fighting over a number of years.
Nominations for the elections officially open on Thursday, September 15, and close at noon on Tuesday, September 20.
The big number of candidates means that preferences will be even more important for this year’s election that in past polls.