Baldivis ward councillor Matthew Whitfield.
Camera IconBaldivis ward councillor Matthew Whitfield. Credit: Supplied/Jon Hewson

Baldivis councillor urges residents to vote, says he will challenge for mayor if re-elected

Vanessa SchmittWeekend Kwinana Courier

CITY of Rockingham councillor Matt Whitfield will throw his hat into the ring as a candidate for mayor.

“If I am fortunate enough to be re-elected as a councillor in Baldivis I am going to be nominating to be the Mayor of Rockingham,” he said.

“I respect the hard work that the mayor (Barry Sammels) and current councillors have given to the City, but as a council I feel we need to be more dynamic and proactive to the many challenges that we face such as our revenue streams, unemployment, public transportation, telecommunications issues and our aging population.”

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Cr Whitfield said the City needed a new direction where the residents were in charge of their future direction.

“This starts with how you vote at these elections and then who becomes mayor,” he said.

“Our City is expanding too fast, in my opinion, our facilities and infrastructure are under strain and it is time to take a pause of housing developments in the outer suburbs and concentrate on light industrial land for more job creation projects as well as delivering projects on time and on budget using local companies in the process.

“I believe that council meetings should be recorded for transparency and that the council should be communicating more with residents and that we should be thinking ‘outside the box’ more to assist with development applications, safety measures and looking at everything possible to keep rates as low as possible.

“I am a hard working, energetic councillor who loves this role and I am urging people to take part in the postal ballot.

“I urge people to ask questions of all the candidates and to consider giving fresh new candidates an opportunity at these elections.

“You have a choice, continue with the way things have been done for the last 20 years or embrace a new dynamic future.”

Cr Whitfield also challenged for mayor after the 2015 local government elections, but the council re-elected incumbent Cr Sammels with Deb Hamlin as deputy.

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