“NOW let’s get to work.”
Those were the words from newly-elected City of Kalamunda mayor John Giardina who is on a mission to improve the council’s tarnished image following a series of unpopular decisions.
Cr Giardina, who has served as a councillor for nearly three decades, said he was confident the latest crop of councillors could restore confidence again among ratepayers.
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READ NOW“I talk the talk, but I also walk the walk and I’m known for that around the shire,” he said.
“After so many years as a councillor what’s driven me to put my hand up finally is that our image at the moment is very poor. I want to fix that.
“We need to engage with our community and take them with us when making decisions and we haven’t been doing that.”
Cr Giardina said there was a long list of poor decisions made by the council in recent years.
“With the Kalamunda Learning Centre saga we gave 800 members there nothing but angst over plans to build a new centre,” he said.
“Then there was the decision to become a city which lost us a lot of respect from our community because we denied them a say.
“We are at a crossroads whether we continue doing the same old thing or step up.
“Our community wants us to step up.”
Cr Dylan O’Connor was elected deputy mayor.
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