By XAVIER SMERDON
WYNDHAM’S former Mayor has spoken of a need for tougher legislation following one of the “grubbiest” elections.
Kim McAliney told Star last week that while she had no regrets from her time as a Mayor and councillor, she hoped future elections would refrain from personal attacks on candidates.
“The election became very personal, especially on some of the different facebook pages,” Ms McAliney said.
“People made accusations about me and identified where I live. It jeopardised the office of the Mayor and council.”
Star revealed last month that candidate Joh Bauch had received threatening text messages during his election campaign.
Ms McAliney said that Wyndham’s new councillors needed to work together if they were to achieve the best results for the municipality.
“They’ve got to get their priorities in order and work out what they can control and what they can’t,” she said.
“Each year gets harder for the council with the amount of people moving out here and I think it will be a shock to some of them at the amount of time that needs to be committed.
“They need to work together as a team and push for vital infrastructure.”
Ms McAliney said she was proud of what she had achieved during her time on the council and she looked forward to spending more time with her children.
“It’s been exciting to represent the community and be able to make some real change,” she said.
“Over the last few years there was a shift in attitude and the whole council stood up and said we can’t continue to handle the amount of growth going on out here.
“The one thing I will regret is that I won’t be able to spend as much time with the different community groups in the municipality.”
