Who Are the Candidates for the Hervey Bay Council’s By-election?
Will we actually get an answer?
The by-election to fill the vacancy on the Hervey Bay City Council will be held next Saturday and there seem to be plenty of people who are prepared to serve the community in the important position of councillor … but who are they?
That was a question that popped in our minds as we drove around town on the weekend. There are plenty of posters around telling us that this or that person wants our vote but who are they and do they really have what it takes to make a useful contribution to Hervey Bay?
While there are plenty of candidates only one seems to have taken the time to get their message out to the electorate via a letterbox drop. None seem to have taken the time to knock on doors or press the flesh. We even live in the same street as one candidate and that person hasn’t even bothered to knock on doors around here.
It will be interesting to see what happens over the coming week. Will any of the others actually bother to tell us why we should vote for them or will we be expected to give them our vote simply because if the way they look on their posters?
Edit: If you’re reading this from the front page then be sure to follow the comment link below. As I write this one candidate has taken the time to respond and her response is well worth reading.
October 23rd, 2006 at 12:29 pm
I understand what you are saying about the low profile of the campaign. I am not sure what can be done about it; I have put out a number of media releases which have not been picked up by the local press. However, as a candidate in the by-election I have been working really hard to contact and listen to people right across Hervey Bay.
I’ve been out doorknocking and have attended numerous business and community group meetings. I have had a lot of responses from residents who’ve received the flyers I’ve put out, and the general feeling in the community seems to be that people want someone who will make council more accessible to them. This is particularly true in the outlying areas of the community, where residents tend to feel like their voice is not heard as strongly as those who live in the heart of the city.
From living in Hervey Bay for 17 years I know a lot of people in the area, however this campaign has been a great opportunity to meet new people and share ideas for the future of the Bay. I care so much about the Bay; it has such a wonderful environment and provides a great lifestyle and I have been working to do what I can to enrich the area from the day I came here.
I was captivated by the abundance of wildlife and unique ecology of the area, so I established the Wildlife Preservation Society branch and the Environment Centre at that time. Our community is home to a great mix of cultures, I thought this was worth celebrating so I founded the Yag’ubi Multicultural festival.
Six years ago I started managing the local MP’s office, where every day I have had the opportunity to help the people of Hervey Bay with a diverse range of issues. I have always thought it’s better to do something positive than complain about something negative.
I’ve got quite a few ideas for the future of the Bay. One of the things I’d really like to see is improvements to the local transport system. With petrol prices steadily increasing and problems with both traffic and parking congestion, I think that having an easy to use, integrated, and extensive public transport system would do a great deal to keep these problems under control.
I’d also like to see council holding more meetings in the outlying areas of the Bay, not only so that we can ensure that councillors themselves see firsthand what’s going on in these areas but so that residents who have difficulty getting into town can have their say.
The Council is charged with the important task of overseeing growth in the area and the decision as to who represents us on the council is significant. I have had extensive experience in government, both from the inside and the outside. In my time as a lobbyist for environmental issues I learned a great deal about the way the system works.
I’ve got a good knowledge of the legislation and processes of councils, and I know where to go to find out anything else I need to. I know what can be done, the processes that need to be followed to get results, the responsibilities of various departments, and perhaps most importantly I know my limitations. I won’t stand up and promise the world on a platter, or commit to things that I cannot deliver, but I can promise to work diligently for the people of the Bay.
I love your blog; it provides a really good commentary on things happening around the Bay.
Local government is about grassroots democracy; I am confident that the people of Hervey Bay will make a smart decision this coming Saturday. If there are any questions or issues that you’d like me to address more directly, just let me know and I’d be delighted to get you an answer. If any of your readers would like to raise an issue with me, I’d be more than happy for them to email me at wendyfbennett@hotmail.com
Cheers,
Wendy Bennett
Councillor Candidate
for the Bay!
October 23rd, 2006 at 12:44 pm
Hi Wendy
Thanks for taking the time to come in and comment. I have to say that you were the candidate I was referring to when I mentioned the letter box drop.
Your first one showed that you were serious and the second one was definitely impressive.
October 23rd, 2006 at 5:31 pm
Hmmm. In all honesty, I didn’t even know we had a Council by-election on this Saturday! I’ve seen the posters up around the place, but that was as far as my knowledge went in regards to this particular event.
Hmmm… considering I know absolutely nothing about any of the candidates, that’s gonna make voting hard. Wendy will probably get my vote, simply because her post here is the only thing I’ve read from a single candidate.
Having said that, such a statement does not bode well for Hervey Bay City Council. If the candidates cannot manage to “promote their wares”, why should anyone bother voting for them? Such a move hardly screams “proactive”, does it?
October 23rd, 2006 at 7:49 pm
Yes Mathew I think you have hit the nail right on the head. Unless the candidates have the ability to get their message out to us voters why should we trust them to run this town for us.
You can’t get any more personal than local government but I reckon most people in town wouldn’t be able to name or recognise any of the councillors except the mayor because the only time you see them is election time.
We pay them bucket loads of money to do not much at all … or so it seems. None of them seem to think that it’s important to actually talk to their constituents once they’ve been elected.
And some of them don’t seem to think it’s all that important to attend council meetings either. Perhaps it’s time for Council to publish the attendance roll for each council meeting just so we can see who is earning their keep and who is far too busy doing other things to really represent us.
Of course, local residents could track them down and talk to them but maybe I’m old fashioned because I think that seeing we put them there it’s their responsibility to come to us and tell us what they are doing on our behalf.
Another way to look at it is to consider whether you would employ any of them if they came to you looking for a job. So far there’s only one who has taken the trouble to make direct contact with as many voters as possible - and I don’t count precious photos in full page ads, or a potted history in throw-away papers as making contact with the voters.
We need to know if these people are capable of standing up for what’s right and have the basic intelligence and common sense to run a multi-million dollar business - and not many have shown that.
And now I will put my soapbox away
October 30th, 2006 at 7:36 am
[…] In an election that some people did not realise was happening (see the comments here)only 71% of the electorate voted and 6% of the votes were informal. […]
October 31st, 2006 at 1:14 am
Dear Stuart,
I have just today come across this site.
The election is over and we all know the result. I give my congratulations to Les Muckon, whom I have really gotten to know over the past weeks. He is a good man who worked hard in the campaign and he has my full respect. He has a wonderful family, once again whom I got to know over the weeks and I thank them for their personal support of me and my campaign and of course their friendship.
On reading your blog I feel I needed to clear a few things up.
A three week campaign is an enormous undertaking. The general public have no idea how much time is needed to do all that is required in such a short time. They have no idea how many hours of planning and organisation is needed to make it happen.
People say no one knew about the by-election. If you recall, the announcement of the election was only made in an advertisement of the election in local newspapers.
There were a few news reports via The Chronicle/Observer.
I do think that those who were unaware of the by election simply don’t read our local newspapers. There were numerous ads and writeups from both the Indy and the Chronicle.
To be fair, I think people were just not interested in the by-election due to the annoying situation of two resignations from council, which creating two by-elections in a two year period. People were angry and this was evident by the high number of informal votes and the low numbers of actual voters on the day.
I do think your blog has unfairly judged candidates without prior consultation about what each individual did during the three week period.
For myself, I did numerous ads in local newspapers, plus televsion advertising; I went to the homes of many, plus business houses and met personally with theml I had my publicist send out press releases to newpapers not only in Hervey Bay but Brisbane; was among only two actual candidates (myself and Les Muckon) who were onsite at the prepolling every single day from Monday til Friday from opening to closure, speaking to a large number of voters about my policies first hand and of course put up more than 100 signs all over town.
From the perspective of mailouts to each home. this was a difficult task as time limitations were unfortunately upon us. Printing was one problem with limited time, and to get a mailout done, candidates had to have a three week booking with pamphlets in the hand of the post office. And the cost was astronomical.
Wendy got pamphlets out, but I am certain she had things in place for her campaign much earlier than most.
This could possibly have been due, fortunatley for her, to information first hand from her own office, that the state election was looming and that a local councillor may run for the seat. Plus, Wendy had the Government office at which she works, with unlimited access and resources, to get her printing done.
By the way, from a marketing prospective (and as an experienced marketing person), mailouts have a low acceptance level and usually end up in the bin with the other junk mail.
I must add, that many people think that the Hervey Bay City Council fund candidates. This is just not true and it should be noted that all candidates unless financed and supported by either business houses or government parties, must fund their own campaign wholly and solely.
People told me personally over the prepolling and of course, on election day, they didn’t read the papers, but thanked me for letting them know via my television ads that an election was actually on.
The task of an election campaign is difficult over 6 to 8 weeks and I can assure you, getting everything in place in just 3 weeks was an amazing feat for all candidates. For that I congratulate all who participated.
The candidates seem to get bombarded with bad press, comment and unfair, unimformed judgements, which is a shame, as I know that all candidates only want to work FOR the good of Hervey Bay.
Lastly, thankyou to all who supported my campaign and thankyou for all the wonderful phonecalls I have received over the past 48 hours. I appreciate the people of Hervey Bay who believed in my decision to run for council.
Thankyou and I hope that I have at least assisted in clearing up a few points on behalf of myself and my other candidates.
kindest regards
Keri McInerney
October 31st, 2006 at 6:04 am
Hello Kerri - thanks for taking the time to add your comments. It’s always interesting to see things from the other side.
I understand the problems in getting your message out to the voters - we’re involved in marketing too. We know that not everyone reads the local newspapers, people don’t see ads on television and junk mail is not read by everyone.
Knocking on doors may be seen as something from the dark ages of marketing but it still has some impact when the product being sold is a candidate for one of the three tiers of Government.
At least one candidate did use that method but I was surprised that more didn’t. Kerri you were the candidate that I referred to in the original post - we live in the same street as you do. We work from home so there is always someone here yet we never saw you.
That influenced us in who we voted for.
November 2nd, 2006 at 10:54 pm
Dear Stuart,
I didn’t meet up with you, but I did meet and speak to many voters in Hervey Bay.
The strange thing about elections, is that when people are campaigning there is always some form of put downs f the candidates, this I find hard to understand.
Perhaps I just believe in giving people a fair go.
Once again, thanks for your time. And thankyou to all who voted for me.
Kindest regards
Keri McInerney
November 3rd, 2006 at 5:16 am
Keri - there’s a difference between ‘put downs’ and constructive criticism.
November 22nd, 2006 at 11:37 pm
Dear Stuart,
I was actually referring to actual ‘putdowns’ which occur in the media and general public.
Constructive criticism is fine as long as it isn’t a personal unfair attack, by people who really have no idea of the real people they are passing comment on.
And it usually is being done, to create media sensationalism, power and control. Its open slather and I accept that it happens but don’t agree with its concept.
Criticism in any shape or form is actally a negative not a positive.
Criticism achieves nothing but to undermine the truth and can be done simply to manipulate.
Fair comment wins me every time. If the world could just loosen up a little and look for the positives, we would find that things could be so much better
I guess criticism comes about with what we know as the Tall Poppy Syndrome. Personally I have always disliked that concept greatly. Australians criticise too often the people who are doers in our communities simply because they do…….and those who complain, don’t know how to do anything else but criticise.
But that is just my opinion and my comment.
regards
K