By Charlene Macaulay
Wyndham mayor Henry Barlow is in hot water over a Facebook comment about ALP preselection for the seat of Tarneit.
In the post, believed to have been published about a fortnight ago on a Facebook page dedicated to debate about government elections, Cr Barlow made reference to Cr Intaj Khan and questioned the integrity of ALP members supporting Labor’s Sarah Connolly, who has put her hand up to contest the state seat of Tarneit.
The comment has since been removed.
In a complaint sent to the council last week, a resident has called for the mayor to be suspended “for his unacceptable behaviour when he is in a leadership position”.
“I believe that it’s not the way the mayor of Wyndham should treat people on a
public platform/social media,” the complaint read.
The complaint comes less than a month after Wyndham councillor Intaj Khan received a one-month suspension following a Facebook stoush with residents earlier this year.
Wyndham council chief executive Kelly Grigsby confirmed receipt of the complaint.
“The matter will be followed up directly with the complainant and will be considered against the councillor code of conduct to assess whether there are any breaches,” she said.
In a statement, Cr Barlow said the comment was in relation to local preselection issues and was not in any way connected with Wyndham council or his capacity as a councillor or mayor.
“The comments came via my personal Facebook site and were made on a forum directly related to state election issues,” he said.
“Shortly after posting the comments I removed my post as I felt that I could’ve handled the situation differently.
“I sincerely regret any offence I may have caused anyone, however I do believe in robust political debate.”
