Pro-tunnel Doyle new Lord Mayor

ROBERT Doyle is Melbourne's new lord mayor after voters flocked to the former Liberal Party state leader in the hotly contested election.

Mr Doyle easily outpolled his nearest rivals but had to rely on preferences to be calculated late last night to be crowned mayor.

Mr Doyle said he was delighted with the support voters had shown him.

His strong vote was reminiscent of the performance of outgoing Lord Mayor John So at the 2004 election and will give him a mandate to pursue his contentious policy of returning cars to Swanston Street.

Other Doyle priorities include more police patrols in the CBD, a review of the Melbourne City Council voting system and a forensic examination of the council's finances.

Mr Doyle said he would like to meet the Premier, Police Minister and Roads Minister as soon as possible to begin work on his new agenda.

Mr Doyle, a Liberal Party member, has said he believed he could work well with the Brumby Labor government.

Mr Doyle led the mayoral vote count from the start, but a field of 11 candidates and complicated preference deals meant the result was not confirmed until 10.45pm.

Others who had a chance of winning until late included the bookies' favourite, Labor-aligned Peter McMullin, the Greens' Adam Bandt, former councillor Catherine Ng and former deputy lord mayor Gary Singer.

Mr Singer said Mr McMullin's "negative" election campaign, which included leaflets attacking other candidates, had put off voters.

"I think people didn't like the McMullin negative campaign; I felt that way myself," he said. "A disappointing way of conducting themselves."

A senior Labor Party source said Mr McMullin's vote had been below expectation.

Mr Singer said Mr Doyle would struggle to return cars to Swanston Street because the other candidates and councillors opposed the policy.

Unlike Mr So, Mr Doyle will not have a majority of councillors behind him and will need to negotiate policies through the council.

Ms Ng, who polled below expectation following personal attacks against her during the campaign, had no regrets.

"I have run a clean and good campaign and I am very proud of that," she said.

The Greens' Mr Bandt said he was "thrilled with our vote" — the second highest number of primary votes.

But he said Labor's decision to preference Mr Doyle ahead of the Greens might have helped Mr Doyle win.

The results for the Melbourne city councillors indicate more than two-thirds of the previous council will not be returned.

Councillors Brian Shanahan, Carl Jetter and Peter Clarke will return. New councillors include John So's former chief of staff, Kevin Louey, the Greens' Cathy Oke, Ken Ong and Jennifer Kanis.

Overall, voting for the Melbourne City Council was down, with only 62% of the nearly 100,000 eligible voters casting a ballot...

Read the rest of the article at TheAge.com.au

Doyle to run for lord mayor - TheAge.com.au

Larissa Ham

Former Victorian Liberal leader Robert Doyle has confirmed he will run for lord mayor of Melbourne.

Mr Doyle, the state opposition leader from 2002 to 2006, will formally announce this morning that he will join the race for the top job.

The former Scotch College teacher is among nine candidates so far to nominate, including the Greens' Adam Bandt, deputy lord mayor Gary Singer, pollster Gary Morgan and Melbourne councillor Catherine Ng.

Mr Doyle holds roles as the chairman of Melbourne Health and director of management consultancy The Nous Group.

He told Radio 3AW this morning that his nomination came after careful consideration.

"I've been in public life once and it didn't end very happily. So you've got to be sure that you've got something to offer and that you want to do something," Mr Doyle said.

His nomination will not be endorsed by the Liberal Party.

"Although yes I'm a Liberal and a very proud one, I'm not bringing the Liberal Party to town hall.

"I want to actually stand as someone who can do things for Melbourne, who can activate things, get things moving again," he said.

Mr Doyle said the task of winning the lord mayor's job would be a tough one.

"I'm certainly no shoo-in as people have suggested. This is an uphill battle and I recognise that."

Mr Doyle will announce his running mate at 10am.

Nominations for the lord mayor's job close at midday tomorrow.

Ballot papers for the election will be sent out from November 11, with voting closing on November 28.

Read the original article at TheAge.com.au

Would I were king: a town of talking statues - TheAge.com.au

BOB "King" Crawford is the latest, somewhat unconventional, lord mayor aspirant. In the 1970s, he pioneered free entertainment in Melbourne's public parks. Today he promises the people of Melbourne not one, but two monorails.

Thrilling idea, of course. Possible? Probably not. And that pretty much can be said about many promises made by Mr Crawford and his more earnest competitors in the 2008 race to lead the City of Melbourne. The lord mayor's role has profile, but little power after successive state governments trimmed the council's planning responsibilities and dictated how elections are run, through the City of Melbourne Act.

But the lord mayor is not a total power vacuum. He or she can drive policies on rates, parking, clean streets, bike paths, some roads, city marketing and child care. They also get to wear the possum-skin cloak and mayoral bling. But some of the city's biggest issues - public transport, late-night street safety, sustainability and traffic congestion - cannot be solved from Town Hall alone.

This is why in some candidates' policies you will find the words "State Government" preceded by words like "urge", "encourage", "insist", "in partnership with" and "lobby". But others believe they can and will deliver major state achievements single-handedly...

Read the rest of the article at TheAge.com.au , and learn more about some (but not many) of the policies of the candidates.

Hmm... will Melbourne be the next Brockway, Ogdenville or North Havenbrook?

Labor muscle ready to take on the Greens

BATTLE lines in the Melbourne City Council election are being drawn to shut out the Greens and replace Lord Mayor John So with a new, compliant leader, commentators say.

Labor candidates spread across several tickets have combined with councillors from Cr So's team and his chief of staff, in what some predict will become a bloc designed to keep crucial preferences locked among the incumbents.

Concern about the Greens is warranted: in 2004 they came second to Cr So, who is not running this time.

Cr So's five-member team is renowned for voting as a bloc at council and committee meetings, and has been accused by rivals of being too subservient to the State Government.

Nominations for all 79 Victorian councils close on Tuesday.

Cr So's departure blows the mayoral and council contests wide open.

Independent mayoral candidate Gary Morgan says there are three groups in the field, his team included. There is a strong chance he will give his preferences to the Greens in an effort to get around what he says is a Labor bloc. "I think Labor will spend a lot of money," he said. "I think they're desperate."

ALP insiders admit the Government does not want a Green lord mayor.

Political commentator Nick Economou said a Greens victory would add to the "sense of momentum the party has in the inner city".

"If a Green mayor were to be elected that would be quite an extraordinary achievement and it would probably cause some nervousness in the ALP, because it would be certain indication of decline in support," Dr Economou said.

Monash University's David Dunstan said the election held danger for the Government.

"An articulate and progressive lord mayoral opponent of Brumby's ALP right centrism, prepared to endorse New Age urban and inner-city quality of life ideas, such as Copenhagen bike paths and a voice at the table on the transport and infrastructure debates, could cause him discomfort," he said.

He said the Government had had "a dream run" with the effervescent Cr So and would be looking for another non-political, pro-business lord mayor.

Greens mayoral candidate Adam Bandt believes there is a strategy to keep him out.

"I think there's a concerted effort by the John So and John Brumby forces to field a range of candidates that appear to be independent but in fact are all cut from the same cloth," he said. "What better way to avoid scrutiny of your record than to have the old guard split up before the election, pretend they're all different candidates, hide their affiliations and then regroup afterwards?

No one in Cr So's team is running on the same ticket, but some have teamed up with ALP candidates....

Read the rest of the article, which includes comments about some of the other current candidates, at TheAge.com.au

I, for one, try to not have an overt political bias on this site (apart from opposing the digging up of the park, of course), but keep in mind that currently the City of Melbourne oppose the digging of a tunnel through our park, and that the Labor State Government have brought about that prospect in the first place. If a labor-aligned candidate became Lord Mayor... well... I don't like to think about that. See you tomorrow where we can show them all how passionate we are!

Are you eligible to vote?

If you live in the City of Melbourne (which, of course, includes Kensington), you should ensure you are eligible to vote in the upcoming elections. Click here to go to the appropriate page of the City of Melbourne website.

There's now three confirmed candidates, and a recent poll suggest that former State Liberal leader, Robert Doyle, would be a favourite should he put his hand up.

So far, to our knowledge only Adam Bandt (Greens) has released any policies. We'll keep you posted - especially when it comes to the tunnel and the park(s).

Will Fowles - Labor Candidate for Lord Mayor

We did a post a while back about Labor's candidate for the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Will Fowles.

Well, he's coming to Kensington. We received a letter from him, stating he wants to make Melbourne better, and that he has Jennifer Kanis, Kensington/Flemington resident of over 10 years, on his team.

He wants to hear what's important to us. We'd encourage you to get along and tell him, and which way you'll vote.

Tuesday 23rd September
6:30-8:00pm
Flemington-Kensington Lawn Bowls Club
Cnr Racecourse and Smithfield Roads, Kensington


Note : Although initial documentation from Will Fowles regarding his stab at going for Lord Mayor of Melbourne was on official ALP letter stock, it appears that he will not be standing as an ALP endorsed candidate. At the meeting on Tuesday, he and Jennifer made the point of stating on more than one occasion, that they were both members of the ALP, however they were not ALP supported candidates.

Young gun to vie for John So's job

Jason Dowling
August 2, 2008

Will Fowles.

LABOR high-flyer Will Fowles is set to run for Lord Mayor in the Melbourne City Council elections this year.

Mr Fowles, 30, the youngest person appointed to the Melbourne Cricket Club committee, confirmed yesterday that he would lead a Labor-supported ticket.

"I am certainly very flattered to have been considered for this role, very keen to be articulating a strong vision for the city of Melbourne," he said yesterday.

Former Melbourne city councillor Kate Redwood is expected to be Mr Fowles' running mate and deputy lord mayor candidate. The only other declared candidate for the Lord Mayor position is the Greens' Adam Bandt. Former Liberal premier Jeff Kennett says he is considering a tilt for the job.

Incumbent John So has yet to say if he will seek a third term.

Mr Fowles, a former Scotch College and Monash University student who now runs a hospitality and property investment business, said he was approached a few weeks ago to run for Labor and quickly agreed. He said he had not discussed it with the Premier.

"At this stage we are not going to be releasing detailed policies except to say we are a passionate and energetic team who are seeking to deliver a strong vision for the city," said Mr Fowles, who sits on the national committee of the Australian Republican Movement.

"We are going to be talking about the detail of all that over the course of next few weeks."

Asked for a glimpse of a John So impersonation that he is said to be very good at, Mr Fowles said: "No way, I am not going to be doing that publicly any time soon."

Read the original article at TheAge.com.au

I've yet to read if he has a stance on transport in Melbourne. The Age has a few articles on him :

• What's Will Fowles Game?
• The newest MCC committee member
  

Perhaps now is a good time to write to him and let him know how you feel about the park and the tunnel, as he hasn't yet put together his policies...

Will Fowles
366A Bridge Road
Richmond VIC 3121

That's his 'Authorised by...' address put on his polical notices, so I'm guessing it's fine to disseminate it?

Mayor race: Eddie McGuire says no, but Jeff Kennet might say yes

EDDIE McGuire has turned down an approach to run for lord mayor but Jeff Kennett is considering a tilt at the job.

"I think the city is ready for a change," the former premier said last night.

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• Vote now: Should Jeff Kennet (sic - he he) be Melbourne's next mayor?

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The speculation has raised doubts about Lord Mayor John So's chances of a third term.

Mr McGuire was asked to run Melbourne by powerful interests concerned the city is losing its way under Cr So.

The Collingwood boss and TV star met Cr So in private last week.

It is believed Cr So has previously flirted with backing Mr McGuire for the job.

Mr McGuire told the Herald Sun he was too busy to be lord mayor.

But Mr Kennett said he was considering running in the November 29 poll.

Mr Kennett said he would not decide until the "death knell" but he had been approached by a "range of interests".

"In any job these days at the top, I think things change very quickly and you need to keep - in the interests of the community you serve - introducing fresh blood," he said.

Mr Kennett recently announced he would step down as chairman of the national depression initiative beyondblue in 2010.

The Hawthorn football club chairman said he would look to join another cause after he left.

Cr So refused to comment last night.

He is believed to be planning a trip to Beijing and is tipped to reveal his plans on his return.

Cr Fiona Snedden yesterday urged Mr Kennett to run for lord mayor.

"I reckon Jeff would be a great mayor. He would show great leadership and vision," Cr Snedden said.

Coalition of Residents and Business Associations spokesman Kevin Chamberlin said Cr So should go.

"The Melbourne City Council has never been in such disarray at both a political and administrative level," he said.

"We believe it's time for John and the council members to all move on."

Two other councillors, Peter Clarke and Gary Singer, are also considering running.

Cr So's meeting with Mr McGuire added to speculation that he would stand down rather than risk defeat.

But he kept his options open, conducting a ring-around recently to determine whether the ALP would back a candidate in the poll.

The Herald Sun believes the ALP is unlikely to back a candidate for mayor.

Under electoral laws, candidates must be nominated at least 32 days before polling day, which would give Mr Kennett until late October to nominate.

The lord mayor is elected directly by ratepayers.

Cr So is a two-time lord mayor whose infectious laugh and broken English made him a popular figure.

But his second term has been marked by discontent among ratepayer groups.

One observer said Cr So had been showing signs of stress as the gloss has been stripped from his public image.

Read the original article at HeraldSun.com.au