There was no lucky dip this time for City of Gosnells mayor Glenn Dewhurst after being forced out of the City of Gosnells building at Tuesday’s council meeting.
Councillor Dave Griffiths put forward the motion as multiple concerns were raised in council about Mayor Glenn Dewhurst’s alleged misconduct.
The council voted in support of the motion and both his office and personal assistant were revoked until August 14, 2019.
Mayor Glenn Dewhurst was the only one to vote against the motion but accepted the result and accepted he will now have to work from home with all expenses included.
“I am quite relaxed to be honest as I spend most of the time with the community anyway and not being in the office,” he said.
“I’m happy that I don’t have to go to the office and have to dress up anymore.
“I’ve been to six meetings this morning.
“I am still in business, I am still the mayor.
“It just means that I have to work outside with the people.” he said.
A lot of the concerns raised under the motion were attributed to his use of social media and his lack of engagement with council members.
Councillor Ron Mitchell strongly showed his support for the motion and expressed his frustration working with the mayor.
“How the hell have we put up with you for so long?” he said.
Councillor and former mayor Dave Griffiths said he considered this would benefit the council and build better relationships with staff members.
“This motion is not aimed as a punishment, rather an encouragement, we do not hate our mayor we just don’t like his style,” he said.
Mayor Dewhurst didn’t agree with the comments and claimed that not even the community of Gosnells was aware of the current council tension.
Gosnells Going Forward chairman Leon Walker also expressed his opinion on the motion and the mayor’s conduct.
“The motions are not intended to punish mayor Dewhurst but to provide mechanisms for him to change his conduct for the benefit of the people in the city,” he said.
After the mayor’s previous public allegations of bullying within the council, there was a backlash from his fellow councillors claiming their reputation was degraded in the face of the community.
“Bullying is a very serious issue and I stand by my comment,” he said.
“If you raise a message of bullying in the council publicly it will get back to you and you are going be punished for it and that’s what they have done,” he said.
Some council members also claimed the mayor has an agenda to engage with the community on social media to boost his profile ahead of the next local government elections in October.
Mayor Dewhurst disagreed with the allegations during the meeting, stating he is standing firm on his platform of improving the City of Gosnells and reducing critical issues such as crime and unemployment without interfering with election campaigns.
