Jo Wass will be resigning from her newly election position on Casey CouncilBy LIA SPENCER
THERE seems to be no end to the controversy surrounding Casey Council, after a newly-elected councillor announced she will resign this week.
The Casey Council election was plagued with accusations of dummy candidates and police arrests. Now, elected Springfield Ward councillor Jo Wass will be standing down this week and a countback will take place.
Ms Wass said her father had cancer and she would be not taking up the role, to allow her to care for him.
Ms Wass, a former police officer, said she was serious about running for the council and had always wanted to serve her community.
She said while she was thrilled to be elected, the news was bittersweet.
“I couldn’t sleep on Sunday because I had mixed emotions,” she said.
“I was thrilled to be elected, but my circumstances changed. My father, who is in Pakenham, has been badly ill and going in and out of Peter MacCallum Centre. My father and mother don’t drive. Up until the weekend, my brother who lives in Pakenham was able to help them with hospital visits and everything else, but I found out that’s about to change. Everything came to a head together.
“I’ve always wanted to service the community, but my family comes first. I will be running again in the next council election.”
Ms Wass denied accusations that she was a running mate for former Springfield Ward councillor Bob Halsall, who she preferenced second. She preferenced Rex Flannery last.
“The only reason I put Bob as a back-up was that I knew he was pro what I wanted to work on – which is the traffic situation in and out of Casey,” Ms Wass said.
Mr Halsall said he was not angry that he lost his position on Springfield Ward to Ms Wass and said people should be grateful that there were many people running for the council.
“I am not upset. I had a different view than a lot of people who get angry about the number of candidates and the stress of validity. I think the word dummy candidate is offensive,” Mr Halsall said.
“I wouldn’t care if 300 people were candidates – yes it is inconvenient for people counting the votes – but if that’s the small price to pay for democracy then I am happy with it.
“People who bitch and complain about the process of democracy should go to another country (to see what it’s like). I think it is a mistake to take those freedoms lightly.”
Mr Halsall said he believed Ms Wass had an extensive business background, with great intelligence and would be a great councillor.
“I am happy if someone is elected that (voters think) is better than me,” Mr Halsall said.
Former Mayor Sam Aziz was re-elected to the Springfield Ward. He said he was disappointed that Mr Halsall was also not re-elected.
Four of six wards had candidates elected who were first on the voting card.
A VEC spokesperson said that Ms Wass would have to apply for a Magistrates Court Order to retire from council before the declarations – last night at 6pm.
If the court order was not obtained, she would have to apply to council to resign after she was declared. This would result in an extraordinary vacancy, which would need to be filled through a count back.
The spokesperson said the councillor also had the option to refuse to be sworn in. A vacancy would exist if the declaration was not signed within a three-month period.
A countback would then occur and votes would be redistributed according to voters’ preferences and not Ms Wass’s how to vote card. A recount could take six weeks.
Ms Wass said she would be resigning after the declaration last night.
