On Monday, Mayor Carol Adams advised the City of Kwinana she will resign as Councillor at the next Election on 21 October bringing her Local Government career to a close after a remarkable 26 years with the Kwinana Council.
Mayor Adams said her resignation comes two years before the end of her term but aligns with her prior announcement that she will not run for the Office of Mayor at the next election - a position she has held for 17 years as Kwinana’s longest-serving Mayor, and was its first female Mayor.
“It has been an honour and privilege to have represented the City in this key leadership role and to be part of an amazing journey watching Kwinana transition from a population of around 17,000 in 1997 to surpassing 50,000 today,” Mayor Adams said.
In 2011, Mayor Adams was awarded a Long and Loyal Service Award from the WA Local Government Association and as Mayor she leaves an extensive legacy in Local Government, witnessing the Town of Kwinana become a City in 2012 and then leading a $300 million transformation of the City Centre in 2015 including the opening of the Dairus Wells Library and Resource Centre.
This City Centre redevelopment was quickly followed by a series of community centres, The Zone Youth Space and the Edge Skate Park, with the award-winning Kwinana Adventure Park opening in 2016 putting Kwinana on the map.
Mayor Adams also celebrated with the community and its overwhelming rejection of plans to merge with Cockburn Council in 2015, yet simultaneously wrestled competing priorities within each Budget cycle as a fast-growing outer metropolitan Local Government.
She welcomed major economic developments for the area, such as the Costco bulky goods development and the City’s Waste to Energy contract.
Mayor Adams helped spearhead the Indian Ocean Gateway Project which led to the State Government’s Westport project being earmarked for Kwinana.
In June 2019, she was awarded the Order of Australia Medal (General Division) in recognition of her services to the community of Kwinana and the economic development of Perth as a member of multiple key boards and committees.
The Office of Mayor will be elected directly by the public for the first time in October, with all Local Government Election nominations open today, prompting Mayor Adams to encourage people to cast their postal vote to have their say in who they want to lead the City for the next four years, in addition to the fresh faces vying for Council.
A candidate vacancy for a two-year term has been added as a result of her announced departure, in addition to four Councillor positions with four-year terms, and one Mayor position for a four-year term.
Nominations close 4pm Thursday, 7 September and nomination details are available from www.elections.wa.gov.au.