By Alesha Capone
Seven Wyndham councillors have been granted approval to take leave before the year ends.
The approvals effectively mean that between them, the seven councillors will be absent from any council-related meetings or duties for a collective total of more than 90 days.
At last week’s council meeting, the council granted leave of absence to mayor Peter Maynard and councillors Kim McAliney, Walter Villagonzalo, Mia Shaw, Tony Hooper, Heather Marcus and Josh Gilligan.
The individual periods concerned run collectively from August through to late November.
Cr Hooper has announced he will be standing as an independent candidate for the seat of Altona in the Victorian state election, which will be held on Saturday, November 24. He will be on leave from October 30 to November 25.
During a council meeting in August, Cr Gilligan lost a bid to postpone this year’s November 21 mayoral election so that councillors contesting the state election could participate in the council poll.
Cr Gilligan proposed moving the mayoral election to Wednesday, November 28, to ensure that councillors running in the state election would be available to attend.
But Cr Gilligan’s notice of motion was voted down, with his fellow councillors saying the council should not change meeting dates to accommodate outside interests.
