Glen Eira Debates

September 20, 2016

19 Responses to “The Candidates & Stooges!”

1. Anonymous Says:

   
   September 20, 2016 at 1:02 PM

   Still a significant number of members from the Jewish community standing in Camden.
   1. Ros Gold Says:

      
      September 20, 2016 at 1:12 PM

      And whats the problem?
      1. Anonymous Says:

         
         September 20, 2016 at 1:47 PM

         Not necessarily a problem in itself and not surprising for Camden. But Fayman, Hermann, Silver and Sztrajt all know each other and are all have links with David Southwick. Although promoting themselves as independents, it would appear that this is probably an attempt by the Liberal Party to boost their numbers on council.
         1. Anon Says:

            
            September 20, 2016 at 2:45 PM

            And Pinskier is a Danby stooge. Not much choice in Camden.
            1. Anonymous Says:

               
               September 20, 2016 at 4:10 PM

               Yes. 4 Libs, 2 Labor, 1 Greens. Camden voters will just have to console themselves knowing that Lipshutz isn’t standing.
         2. Anonymous Says:

            
            September 21, 2016 at 11:38 AM

            Sztrajt is definitely not a Liberal
      2. Anonymous Says:

         
         September 20, 2016 at 2:57 PM

         The problem is that the likes of Lipshutz and Hyams have tended to place Jewish interests first when it came to a choice. Maybe that doesn’t apply to all here but it has left a bad taste in some voters mouths nonetheless.
         1. Pebbleson Says:

            
            October 10, 2016 at 2:38 PM

            Of course none of the other candidates have sinister dual loyalties, right? We know where you are coming from. We get the same sort of sneery comments every election, no matter what the specific context. Actually, of course, what benefits Jews in Camden benefits Camden, since all reside there. The good faith of candidates, each in terms of their own outlook, should be taken for granted, even for Christians, let alone for Sikhs, Hindus, Buddhists and etc. There are very few issues that would challenge this.
2. Anonymous Says:

   
   September 20, 2016 at 1:31 PM

   Jesus libs and labs going full bore. So much for local government being non political. Hyams stooges everywhere – Elliott, De’Ath. Lab stooges too – Andonopolous, Taylor, Karslake. Any real independents out there?
   1. anon Says:

      
      September 20, 2016 at 2:12 PM

      You forgot to include Sounness and Davey from the Greens Party.
      1. gleneira Says:

         
         September 20, 2016 at 2:15 PM

         Correct! Apologies for this oversight!
3. Anonymous Says:

   
   September 20, 2016 at 8:07 PM

   I have attended yesterday’s Council meeting to see for myself how the Council and Councillors in particular perform. Since I have not been to Council meetings for a number of years, it was some revelation to see the administration had 4 out of 6 new people at the top table, thanks to the current CEO Rebecca McKenzie. There were 3 females and 3 males. That is a big change from the times of Newton as CEO. He had only males at the top table.

   As for performance of Councillors, that did not change much as many of the same faces were present. The best performance on the day were Crs Sounness and Delahunty. The worst was Cr Lobo, who became emotional, personal and erratic when he spoke. He did not stick to the topic under discussion, which led to a concerted rebuff by Crs Lipshutz, Magee and Hyams. It became quite unpleasant with the mayor Pilling suspending proceedings to get Lobo out of the meeting. Interestingly, Cr Ho has not said a word throughout the meeting. Amazing.

   Reflecting on the meeting I would say that the CEO has done an excellent job to ensure a more balanced administration with a focus on more open, transparent and accountable reporting. However, for her to enable further changes, particularly for community benefit, she has to have the support from Councillors. That is not the case at present. In addition, the majority of Councillors practice ‘representative democracy’ as they keep reminding all the time. They deliberately ensure that the community cannot participate in Council decision making. Essentially, community or residents may propose, but the Councillors dispose. That cannot lead to greater participation of the community with Council, both Councillors and administration. That kind of change cannot be done by CEO alone.

   If we are to change the way Council is working with the community I’d say that except for Crs Sounness and Delahunty everyone else should be replaced by new people. I myself would like to see more women on the Council, say 5 of them. The other criteria is to have younger and more energetic Councillors. It is less important, which party they are from, although it would be good if there is a balance between Labor, Liberal and Greens. Independents would be great. However, the politically minded have a greater pull and support.

   Perhaps more important is to be active about your choices and talk to neighbours, friends and family. Here is the problem. There are a few Resident Associations in Glen Eira. The most visited site is the GE Debates. But if we put together the visitors from all those sites it is miniscule, perhaps 1 to 2 percent out of over 100,000 eligible to vote. So, it’s not enough to rely on sites like this one. The best is to swamp the papers, the Age, Herald and Leader with your suggestions for a new Council.
   1. David B. Says:

      
      September 20, 2016 at 10:43 PM

      The Glen Eira Residents Association in holding “Meet the Candidates” community forums in each ward. Details of the forums are on their website.

      https://geresidents.wordpress.com/2016/09/12/how-will-you-decide-your-vote-in-octobers-council-elections/

      I agree with you, dysfunctional Glen Eira Council has to change. Sounness and Delahunty are the only two worth keeping. The others have been in too long, there is no point re-electing those that have created the problems and expecting them to be able to fix them.
   2. Annon Says:

      
      October 6, 2016 at 7:06 PM

      Anonymous 20 September 2016 8.07 pm
      I happened to catch up with the posts on this forum. It is impressive to know that after attending 1 Council imeeting you are a judge and jury. You must be a
      Superwomen or Superman and you sound to be like those who have pebbles in your CPU. Where you forced to attend the meeting due to an item on the agenda agenda? To have a clue is important.
4. Anonymous Says:

   
   September 20, 2016 at 8:17 PM

   Here is Leader story of Glen Eira’s Council meeting yesterday http://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/inner-south/glen-eira-kingston-and-frankston-council-meetings-end-in-chaos/news-story/78fe303bca3f4d82cba1041e6c6e6b83
5. Anonymous Says:

   
   September 21, 2016 at 3:37 PM

   I’d really like to know who the stooges are. I’m in Rosstown. I’m aware that Esakoff and Ho are Liberals and Pilling is now also a Liberal after doing a U-turn.

   Clare Davey is a declared Green, so she’s been open and honest.

   Dunstan is a perennial with baggage.

   What about the others?
   1. Anna Says:

      
      September 22, 2016 at 8:00 AM

      Green = open and honest? Really? Can we please for once stop with the stereotypes, labels and false criteria (eg. we need more women). I don’t care if the councillor is a man, woman or transgender, if he/she is white or black or any colour in between, what religious beliefs they have and even the party affiliation is not that important although political balance across the panel is desirable. We need councillors who are competent, actually care about the area and the community, able to negotiate and are able to look 1 step ahead. We need councillors who have a clear idea not only about what needs to be done but also how.
      1. Anonymous Says:

         
         September 22, 2016 at 3:07 PM

         By open and honest that would mean we all know who we a voting for.

         Of course all of the characteristics you mention are important but experience has shown very few don’t have agendas. Lipshutz and Hyams being the classic examples.

         I actually want to know whether the ratepayers interests are paramount or when push comes to shove religious and or political interests win the day.
6. Anonymous Says:

   
   October 2, 2016 at 10:26 AM

   I for one have had enough of all the infighting and pretty poor behaviour. I have not taken much interest before in who these people are, but this year will be different. I will be doing my research, and make a much more informed choice. I hope others do too. I also think we also need some more women on the council. There seems to be a bit of the male ego evident in all this infighting. ” want something done…ask a busy woman “. Jane

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