Perth Voice Interactive

VINCENT mayor Emma Cole has announced she’ll stand down come the end of her term in October.

Ms Cole was first elected as a councillor in 2013, then as mayor in 2017. 

At the July 25 council meeting Ms Cole announced that after 10 years in local government she was looking forward to more evenings at home with her family.

“Ten years for me is a long time in local government, long enough to see a great deal of positive change but also long enough to crave quieter evenings and weekends, more time to help with the homework (although the boys won’t really like that), to be with family and neglected friends, and to walk the dog, probably at Britannia Reserve.

Took the plunge

“My youngest was just three years old when I took the plunge to run for Vincent Council and now we’re organizing the 13th birthday party, so it’s time for me to be a resident again in my community.”

Ms Cole’s time on council has continued a trend set by previous Vincent mayors of going outside the usual three Rs (rates, roads, and rubbish) of local government, and those endeavours been a large target for critics in public question time and on social media.

But Ms Cole said they’d been able to keep the finances in good order and the “progressive decision making” reflected what most of the Vincent community wanted. 

“We’ve shown that it’s possible for local government to be more than the three R’s,” Ms Cole said, “that we can aim high on our sustainability actions in the face of climate change, that we can represent our diverse community on issues that matter to them like the marriage equality plebiscite and the Uluru Statement from the Heart,” the call for constitutional recognition by Aboriginal people which Vincent endorsed in 2020.

Former mayor John Carey, now WA Labor’s MP for Perth, told the Voice: “I don’t know who’ll be standing for mayor, but there are big shoes to fill.

“The thing about Emma Cole is, whether or not you agreed with all her positions, she was always diligent, she had the highest levels of integrity, and she was always engaged and was responsive to constituents.

“It could be the toughest of issues, but she would meet residents on the street, in workshops, in forums.

“I say this for any prospective mayor: The expectations set by our community are very clear. This is not a part-time role, this is not a job for your retirement, our community expects a highly engaged, responsive mayor, and it’s bloody hard work.”

by DAVID BELL