Call to clean up elections

A CITY of Greater Dandenong council candidate has slammed the process for last year’s local government election as “a farce” and “a dirty and dishonest game”.
Brad Woodford put his hand up for Paperbark Ward and is now urging change before the 2016 election to give “normal local citizens” a better chance.
“Following a campaign by the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) to encourage passionate local citizens to take the stand and run for council, many of us who took the challenge would soon find out what a dirty and dishonest game the local government scene is currently,” he said.
“We were clearly up against a raft of so called ‘independent’ candidates who actually had some form of support from a major party.
“Further to that there was clearly an army of ‘dummy candidates’ on the ballot as well, who were there simply to direct any votes they had accumulated off to one of the other candidates.”
Mr Woodford said he and other normal local citizens with a genuine desire and ambition to take on the role didn’t have a chance.
“In the end the voters were left completely confused by a horrendously long ballot paper,” he said.
His comments last week followed news that he and seven other Greater Dandenong candidates were subject to a Local Government Investigations and Compliance Inspectorate investigation.
They were among 165 candidates across the state who failed to submit the mandatory Campaign Donation Returns form and face a fine of up to $8450.
“I don’t believe I will receive a fine, because I have had open discussion with representatives from the Inspectorate and have outlined how my campaign was funded,” Mr Woodford said.
“That said, the Inspectorate would be far better off to consult with the MAV and focus on the practices carried out by some candidates prior to polling day, and look to ways to make the whole process fairer not only for candidates, but also the local community.”
He said community members ultimately wanted to vote for somebody who was going to do them some good.
“The high rate of informal votes in the 2012 council elections, and the high rate of failures to submit Campaign Donation Returns by candidates, are all clear signs of the disillusionment out there regarding the way the elections were conducted.
“The whole process was nothing short of a bad joke.”
“The Inspectorate and the MAV would be far better off ensuring that the 2016 elections are entirely transparent and that candidates are legitimate and fully disclose who is funding their campaign before polling day, so that the voters can make a much more informed decision.”