LOW PROFILE CANDIDATE WANTS MAYORS JOB

USPA NEWS - Is Councillor Reece Harley ready to run as Mayor to the City of Perth when he can´t even sort out drug fuelled fights with neighbours and “˜pot smoking´ squatters living behind his own flat in West Perth? His own neighbours don´t think so.

On the 2nd of June this year squatters were found living in a tent in a neighbouring property to 36 Mount Street and 40 Mount Street where Councillor Reece Harley not only resides but runs his Mayoral election campaign. For days neighbours would listen to drug fuelled domestic fights between people squatting in Cr Harleys back yard (apparently oblivious to Harley). Uniformed police were called on the afternoon of the 3rd where a 240 volt extension cord was found running to another property effectively stealing power. Police refused to intervene suggesting they were told by the squatters they were allowed to be there, had permission from the building owner and had actually been camping there for several months. The squatters had no access to public toilets in the area or showers. As a resident living next door to Cr Harley I questioned the building owner myself who wasn´t aware of the tent as the first two floors of the building were in fact empty.

I spoke personally to one of the squatters and was met with foul language and threats of violence. I emailed Perth City Councillor James Limnios who looked into the matter himself and replied at 10pm his reply was “Hi Robbie very sorry to hear about this. Thank you for going to this trouble. I will forward to our CEO and the LM (Lord Mayor) for attention and also the police. I will get feedback as to whether the City has any authority to act. This is not what our city is about. All the best!“ The following morning council inspectors from Perth City Council arrived, spoke to the property owners, the squatters were spoken to and police arrived to manage the squatters move. Ironically the squatters who both had laptops and Iphones called friends who arrived in pickup trucks. Talking to one of the drivers of the cars assisting and I found that the squatters were not homeless , they just wanted to live in the city for free. A talk to one of Cr Harley´s neighbours, who only wants to be called Hayden and you, get a different look at the man who is running for Mayor Scaffidi´s seat . Hayden a resident in the building where Cr Harley lives in West Perth said, “I find him to be very false and he is full of himself.“

Cr Reece Harley was told by the city's chief executive Gary Stevenson back in April this year to reimburse the council for the money it cost to produce 3,400 copies of a letter and newsletter in February and March. Cr Harley was quoted back then in the “˜West Australian´ newspaper as saying,"outrageous he would have been entitled under council policy to spend the money on clothes but not on engaging with residents." Talk to the man yourself and you get the feeling that he does need a 'makeover magician' if he is representing an entire City both here in Australia and Globally. There are also rumours his campaign is being funded by “˜Union´ and “˜Labor Party´ money to the amount of $50,000. Cr Harley has publicly denied the rumours.

Today Perth Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi known to locals as the “˜People Mayor´, came under fire by media after findings of an investigation lasting several months by the Corruption and Crime Commission were released who found the Lord Mayor of Perth failed in her duties by not disclosing three travel-related gifts in 2008 and 2009 in her annual return. Lord Mayor Scaffidi has told radio hosts across Perth today that “ she is an open person who made an honest mistake by not disclosing travel-related gifts she accepted in 2008 and 2009.“ The CCC formed opinions of serious misconduct relating to her failure to disclose a 2008 Beijing Olympics hospitality package, 2009 Leeuwin Concert tickets and 2008 Broome Cup accommodation. “It did not find evidence of corruption and there were no adverse findings in relation to other travel.“ Said Mayor Scaffidi .“ The CCC commended her for this disclosure in its report. "I hope people understand that I was not able to speak about this, and I feel like it's been a dark cloud over my head for the last three to five months ... the worst experience of my entire life. These are not criminal charges and they are not corruption findings. And I am really - to be honest with you - relieved that I have gotten through what has been the worst experience of my life going through the CCC. I wouldn't wish it on anybody, I can assure you." Said Mayor Scaffidi.

In an exclusive chat with the Mayor Scaffidi this evening she was very humbled thanking her supporters for there well wishes through social media. Many are simply amazed at the timing of this media frenzy just before the elections . In 2013 Perth's Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi was named the second best mayor in the world. Ms Scaffidi was given the nod in the 2012 World Mayor Project, which gave the number one ranking to the Mayor of the Spanish City of Bilbao, Iñaki Azkuna. Top Mayors were shortlisted from 912 to just 25 Mayors. Almost half a million votes later over 28,000 of which originated from Australia. The City Mayors Foundation then took these votes into consideration when assessing the achievements of each mayor and noted that Mayor Scaffidi had put Perth third on the Australian map, after Sydney and Melbourne.

Marco Rubio once said, "Leadership can not be measured in a poll or even in the result of an election. It can only be truly seen with the benefit of time. From the perspective of 20 years, not 20 days." Its through time and planing changes are made .
Barack Obama once said, "In the end, that's what this election is about. Do we participate in a politics of cynicism or a politics of hope?"... whatever the end result we know we have made the right choice...Namaste