NEWS DESK AS ratepayers get ready to vote for council candidates in this month’s council elections Neil Walker looks back at two years of turmoil between councillors at Frankston Council.
Timeline of turmoil
FEB 2014: Cr Colin Hampton, a Labor Party member, claims then mayor Cr Darrel Taylor promised not to seek Liberal Party preselection if councillors supported his election as mayor in November 2013. Cr Taylor denies this. Mayors serve a 12-month term and are elected by a majority of fellow councillors.
JULY 2015: Then deputy mayor Cr Glenn Aitken, not a member of any political party, brings a popup jack in the box out at a public council meeting with the words: “Who’s the Liberal candidate for Isaacs?” on the box. Cr Darrel Taylor accuses Cr Aitken of attempting to publicly “bully and harass” him by suggesting Cr Taylor will seek Liberal preselection to contest the federal seat of Isaacs at the 2016 federal election. Cr Aitken says he is merely “having a laugh”. Cr Taylor does not ultimately seek federal preselection.
FEB 2014: A bid by Cr Hampton to force Cr Taylor to step down as mayor, alleging Cr Taylor would have a conflict of interest, is defeated when councillors present at that month’s public council meeting vote against the proposal 3-4. MARCH 2014: Cr Taylor declares he will stay on as mayor if he wins Liberal preselection. Sean Armistead wins Liberal preselection to contest the seat of Frankston at that year’s state election. Labor’s Paul Edbrooke later wins the seat of Frankston by a slim margin in November’s state election. NOVEMBER 2014: Cr Sandra Mayer is elected mayor for the second time in two years having served as mayor in 2013 but it is not without controversy as there is a public 5-4 councillors split vote to elect the mayor. Crs Glenn Aitken, Brian Cunial, James Dooley and Colin Hampton vote for Cr Mayer to be mayor while Crs Michael O’Reilly, Suzette Tayler and Darrel Taylor publicly back Cr Spelman, Frankston’s deputy mayor for the past 12 months. Battlelines are effectively drawn for the rest of the four-year council term. JAN 2015: Tensions between councillors about “bullying” allegations erupt into the open when the first public council meeting of the year is adjourned for about 10 minutes. Councillors leave the chamber and can be heard shouting at each other behind closed doors at the back of the council chamber before the meeting resumes.
FEB 2015: The Times reveals Cr Brian Cunial faced a WorkCover probe over a council employee claim for “anxiety and stress” in 2013. The claim was approved. Cr Cunial says he and another unnamed councillor were interviewed by an insurance investigator in relation to a WorkCover claim by a council employee for anxiety and stress. “Following that interview, I heard nothing more, including no allegations of bullying,” Cr Cunial says. The Times can now reveal the other councillor interviewed was Cr Hampton who was a witness for Cr Cunial. FEB 2015: Cr Michael O’Reilly claims “longerterm councillors get pretty nasty” if first-term councillors disagree with them at briefings held in private. Cr Glenn Aitken confirms council CEO Dennis Hovenden asked council staff to leave a briefing amid a furious argument between Cr Aitken and Cr O’Reilly. FEB 2015: A motion by Cr Glenn Aitken to write to the state Local Government Minister to force
councillors to attend a minimum number of council briefings, amid arguments about some councillors “putting in more work” than others, is defeated by a 4-5 councillors’ vote. Cr O’Reilly claims there is often “intimidating behaviour at briefings” and “this causes people to not want to come to these briefings.” MAY 2015: A media policy is tabled at council that would force all councillors to notify the mayor, then Cr Sandra Mayer, of any comments made to the media. Councillors decide to defer a decision on the new policy. Some councillors see the attempted policy change as an attempt to “gag” councillors and stop them speaking to the media. JUNE 2015: A freedom of information request by The Times reveals there have been five proven cases of bullying at Frankston Council in two years and 36 “matters investigated”. Council CEO Dennis Hovenden previously refused to disclose the information when asked at the start of the year.
NOV 2015: Cr James Dooley succeeds Cr Sandra Mayer as mayor but again his election to the mayorship is marred by a split 5-3 public vote between councillors. Crs Aitken, Mayer, Cunial and Dooley vote for Dooley to become mayor. Crs Tayler, Spelman and O’Reilly vote for Cr Suzette Tayler to be mayor. Cr Darrel Taylor is absent from the meeting but signals he would have voted for Cr Tayler. NOV 2015: Cr Hampton is accused of being “angry and loudly aggressive” in public at a function at The Deck Bar in Frankston hosted by Peninsula Blue Developments to launch the marketing campaign for the Allure Bayside apartment project at Wells St. It is understood that Cr Hampton is angry that Cr Darrel Taylor addresses attendees from the stage after mayor Cr James Dooley has spoken. The deputy mayor accuses two council staff in the pub of responsibility for Cr Taylor’s speaking at the event which they deny. A “visibly agitated” Cr Hampton also approaches Cr Taylor and says “piss off, you cheeky bastard” when he comes off stage. APRIL 2016: The Times reveals ratepayers may foot the bill for an investigation and independent panel hearing, facilitated by the Municipal Association of Victoria, into Cr Hampton’s behaviour at the Deck Bar. It emerges Cr Taylor also faced
JOIN ONLINE Visit mrcmembership.com.au
PHONE Call 5975 3310 PAGE 4
Frankston Times 17 October 2016