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Bearsley mayor despite divisions Neil Walker neil@baysidenews.com.au KINGSTON councillors elected a new mayor last week. Cr Tamsin Bearsley won a five-three split vote against challenger Cr Steve Staikos at a public council meeting last Wednesday evening (11 November). Cr Bearsley succeeds former mayor Cr Geoff Gledhill who handed over the mayoral robes after his 12-month stint as Kingston’s civic leader. Councillors usually discuss who will be mayor at a closed meeting before a mayor is elected in public to resolve any differences of opinion so a new mayor begins the statutory 12-month tenure as civic leader and chair of council meetings with a united council front but councillors broke with tradition this year. Many votes on contentious subjects since the last council election in 2012 such as the possibility of development in Kingston’s Green Wedge have been split five-four between two groups of councillors, prompting Cr Staikos to publicly put his hand up to be mayor last week. At the meeting Cr Staikos said he decided to nominate for the mayorship, despite knowing Cr Bearsley had the numbers, because there have been divisions between councillors during this council term. “I made that unusual decision because I felt I needed to give the councillors and the community an opportunity to see there is an alternative voice and a different voice and view on this council and there is somebody New mayor in town: Cr Tamsin Bearsley was elected Kingston mayor last Wednesday after a five-three split vote by councillors.
who is willing to offer a variation from the status quo,” he said. “I really hope we can turn over a new page with this year … and make a shift away from ideological decision making and adopt a principle of consensus based decision making.” Cr Bearsley was elected to council in October 2012. An identical twin, she lives in Aspendale Gardens with her husband and two children. She works as a specialist IT teacher at a primary school. In a statement issued last week Cr Bearsley said: “I am proud to live and work in Kingston and look forward to working in partnership with our community to further improve and strengthen the city”. “We have resolved a number of long-running issues including residential aged care and protecting the northern section of the Green Wedge, but there are always further improvements to be made,” Cr Bearsley said. “Over the next 12 months council will be aiming to make significant progress on our community hubs at Carrum and Westall that will provide state-of-the-art facilities for local families and continuing to provide quality community infrastructure including playgrounds and sporting facilities.” Councillors thanked Cr Gledhill for his “tireless work” during his mayorship. The former mayor highlighted the protection of the Green Wedge from waste activities and the start of the construction of the Kingston part of the Bay Trail as major achievements during his mayoral term. He thanked his family, especially wife Angie, for their support while he was busy representing Kingston at events. Continued Page 6
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