Prominent media personality Basil Zempilas has ended months of speculation and confirmed he will run for Lord Mayor of the City of Perth.
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Prominent media personality Basil Zempilas has ended months of speculation and confirmed he will run for Lord Mayor of the City of Perth.
Prominent media personality Basil Zempilas has ended months of speculation and confirmed he will run for Lord Mayor of the City of Perth.
Revealing his intentions on social media this morning, Mr Zempilas said he wanted to bring his leadership, work ethic and ideas to the City of Perth.
His campaign platform will reportedly focus on cutting red tape and working to end homelessness in the city, as well as promises to light up and clean the city’s malls and streets.
“I’m hugely motivated to change the conversation around Perth,” he wrote.
“[E]nough of the negative, let’s celebrate all the good things about Perth and unlock it’s enormous potential.”
Mr Zempilas’ candidacy has up to now been the subject of media intrigue, with the Channel 7 presenter having openly flirted with a bid as early as January.
Since then, he has publicly discussed the possibility of retaining his high-profile media positions if he were to seek the position, and in March received the endorsement of former mayor, Lisa Scaffidi.
He now joins fellow 6PR host Mark Gibson, former magistrate court judge Tim Schwass and Bain Media managing director Di Bain in the mayoral race.
The position of mayor has been vacant since the council’s suspension in March 2018, with a high-profile inquiry into allegations of wrongdoing against the council and the city's administration completed in June of this year.
More than 135 matters of suspected misconduct were referred to state and federal authorities as a result of that inquiry.
Elections to The City of Perth’s nine council seats and mayoralty will be held on October 17.
Rank | Company | # | |
---|---|---|---|
2nd | ![]() | City of Wanneroo | $207.6m |
3rd | ![]() | City of Swan | $204.6m |
4th | ![]() | City of Perth | $196.8m |
5th | ![]() | City of Cockburn | $170.6m |
6th | ![]() | City of Joondalup | $156.9m |