BORDERLINE Albury/Wodonga

Now, however, there's a new kid on the block, Alice Glachan trading on her father's name and her mother's seeming insistence that her daughter should continue a Glachan dynasty. Alice Glachan loves power, and when she was elected on Arthur Frauenfelder's ticket in 2000 she and her mother considered it a stepping stone to greater glories. That includes Greg Aplin's job. Alice Glachan wants the Albury state seat.   Helen Glachan as a member of the NSW State Executive nurtures her daughter's ambitions with an iron will and whatever influence she can muster. That's why in the last elections in 2008, when it appeared Cr Paul Wareham had the numbers to become Deputy Mayor, Alice and her mother made a visit to Cr Gould's home to discuss a few things with the result that Cr Gould had a change of mind and supported Alice for the Deputy Mayor. It is interesting to note that both Alice and Amanda always wanted a bigger stage on which to strut their stuff. Both in a sense have sought outside patronage to meet these ends, like Helen Glachan with her connections in the Liberal Party. Alice also sought preselection for the state seat of Benambra, but Mr Bill Tilley gazumped her. Sources have also told Borderline that Helen Glachan tried unsuccessfully to get her daughter a seat in the New South Wales Legislative Council.

Cr Duncan Strelec doesn't particularly care what side of the fence of politics she is on when it comes to her ambition on the political stage indeed she has sought opportunity in both the Liberal and Labor Parties, as well as standing as an independent candidate in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for Albury in1995 and had another bash at it in 1998 for the Federal Seat of Farrer. Amanda, Borderline has been told, also sought a seat in the NSW Legislative Council for the Labor Party through her connections in Sydney, particularly the Mayor of Botany, Ron Hoenig. Perhaps it was through Australian Mayoral Aviation Council. Ron likes aviation matters himself. I suppose you would if you were Mayor of Botany. Borderline has been advised (and let this be a salutary lesson to those seeking political patronage to higher office) that Ron told Amanda he was a powerful man in the Labor Party. Well, he is in Botany Bay. One would think that Ron, a barrister and numbers man, would have bettered himself by now. Instead he has been Mayor of the City of Botany Bay since 1981! No doubt he would say I love being Mayor of the City of Botany Bay I love the people - wouldn't leave, et cetera. It's all tosh. Ron would have liked to have been federal member for Kingsford Smith when Laurie Brereton retired in 2004. However, Laurie his nickname wasn't 'Dangerman' for nothing was a bigger hitter, kicker and fixer than Ron. Laurie was in the super league as far as numbers men go and the thought of the seat falling into Ron's hands caused Laurie a prolonged bout of insomnia. Rumour has it he stayed an extra term in Federal Parliament to stymie any attempt Ron might have to get his hands on the seat. Peter Garrett won the seat at the 2004 federal election. His colleagues expressed surprise at Laurie's sudden intended departure from Parliament. Laurie could now take to his bed at night confident of a good night's sleep. There is a moral in this story that is appropriate. If it feeds the cynicism of the people of Albury then so be it.

Just think, if all had gone to plan Amanda and Alice would be facing off in the Legislative Council from opposite sides of the fence. Now they're fellow conspirators in getting rid of Cr Gould.

What could have been?

On September 28 the councillors will decide a new mayor. What has marked this particular annual affair has turned in a comic-tragic episode in the municipal life of Albury that has largely escaped the public gaze.

When Cr Gould was elected Mayor of Albury in 2007 she had, if one believes in the basic tenets of democracy, a moral right to the position. She received before preferences 1,463 votes, after preferences her group 2896 votes, under the system of optional preferential voting. Optional preferential voting means that each group could do deals with the devil to get a few extra votes. Borderline prefers to use a candidate's personal vote as some indication of their appeal. Cr Gould topped the poll and no-one can dispute it.

Just because a candidate receives a higher vote is not often a consideration for becoming mayor or vice mayor. To some it's more of an affirmation that you should be kept in your place. You can argue this should be the case. You can argue that the councillors are in a best position to elect the mayor because the mayor and to a lesser extent the deputy mayor must be the most suitable and capable for the job. If you believe this, you probably believe in flying saucers. Why? Because a lot of councillors enter council with, as they say, their eye to the main chance and they don't want to be denied should the main chance come their way. Most of them couldn't give a gnats wink what the public think privately and loath the idea of a popular vote for the mayor. That's why when Amanda was popular she wanted the mayor to be voted for by the people, bypassing the selection process in which the councillors are the sole arbiters of electing the mayor. The councillors didn't much care for this, because they knew the people wouldn't make the right decision. Amanda became less enthusiastic about it as her vote waned. Still there's more than one way to skin a cat. When Cr Gould topped the poll and became mayor in 2008 and two former mayors (Frauenfelder and Baker) having chosen not to stand for re-election and Mr Bob Angus being elected on the strength of Cr Gould's ticket there was little enthusiasm for an alternative candidate.

It was a time for those who thought that Cr Gould would be a stopgap appointment while they set about structuring the dynamics of the new council. For a rundown on the 2008 election follow this link; http://borderlinealburywodonga.com/page5.html From the moment Cr Gould became Mayor, a vicious concerted campaign to destroy her began. The hostility and vindictiveness was a sight to behold as Crs Duncan-Strelec and Henk van de Ven attempted, in what was essentially a war of attrition, to destroy Mayor Gould's authority and reputation. In the background the mayor-in-waiting, Cr Gachan, stood in the shadows waiting impatiently to claim her throne. She had to be a bit sensitive about it because Gould had supported her for Deputy Mayor. Then again, sensitivity doesn't rest too easily in Alice's view of the world.

Then in a most bizarre action it seemed Alice's chance had come prematurely. If it was not so tragic, you could almost consider it black comedy. Very black. Several months ago Cr Gould underwent major surgery. This is traumatic in itself. It is a time, one would suppose, to evaluate one's life. Trying to think of what might be. Apparently the mayor was in the recovery ward when the deputy Alice visited her. No doubt she would have prefaced the real reason for the call with some best wishes, considering the gravity of the occasion. But then it seems Cr Clachan told Cr Gould she was there at the behest of the general manager of Albury City Council, Les Tomich. Whether it's true she visited Cr Gould at Mr Les Tomich's request or of her own volition will probably never be known, and in a sense it is neither here nor there. What matters is that Cr Glachan chose to visit Cr Gould at an inappropriate time to discuss 'succession matters' and ask in view of the circumstances would Mayor Gould be standing down. Glachan wanted the job and was plainly of the opinion that it was in the best interests of Albury that she did. Mayor Gould said no. "Couldn't you wait until my grave is cold, Alice?"

What makes it all the more troubling is why, if the good of Albury and other 'succession matters' so troubled the deputy mayor and the General Manager, they weren't considered before mayor Gould went to hospital. Isn't that how it's supposed to go just before you go under the knife just in case anything happens?

So how did it all come to this?

Almost exactly a year ago, after the election result was declared, the power play began. It was a dirty affair. Cr Duncan-Strelec was the ninth candidate elected and must have considered herself lucky to have gained selection to Council. Her slide from grace has been marked by petulance and occasional attempts to restore some semblance of the glory of former days. That's when she wasn't in Alaska. She didn't show much interest in Council matters, except alternate delegate to Albury Airport Committee.

Paul Wareham thought he had the numbers for deputy mayor after all, he got the second highest personal vote. The preferential voting system used in NSW is a very ordinary exercise in democracy as 'the teams' usually broker deals with one another that the voters are completely unaware of. Most of them would make deals with teams regardless of their agenda in the hope they might wring a few more votes out of some unsuspecting voter who is blissfully unaware they are directly contributing to the election of a councillor they might otherwise loathe.

Cr Wareham might well have got the job if Cr Gould had not changed her vote following a visit from Alice Glachan and her mother not long after the election. One could speculate till the cows come home about what happened at that meeting. Helen and Pat go back a long way. Gould suddenly changed her mind and threw her support behind Alice for deputy mayor. The rest is history. Cr Gould told Cr Wareham a day or two later that she didn't think he had the numbers. Borderline remembers Vivien Voss 'pointing' it out to her in a heated argument, as Cr Gould adjusted her mayoral chain. Gould didn't seem to realize Wareham didn't have the numbers because she had thrown her support behind Alice Glachan. In this coming mayoral election Borderline believes the numbers are against him - even though he got the second highest personal vote. The reason being that several councillors are concerned about Wareham's perceived differences with officers arising from the Fromholtz Park debacle.   Cr Wareham wanted to question James Jenkins and was howled down because it.

The executive of the Albury City Council are paid exceedingly well. In any other democratic platform they would also be held responsible for their actions and on occasions be called to give an account of themselves. Few councillors try to get to the bottom of a matter by insisting officers answer questions that may seem a bit controversial. Of course you can ask strictly technical questions. Ask as many as you want. Ask them till the cows come home. When you ask why, or how come, that's a different matter. It's just not on. That's when your treading on their patch. If you want to get on their patch it's by invitation only. Why is this so? Are officers some type of endangered species who can only answer questions of a less controversial nature?

All this plays right into the hands of the general manager, Les Tomich. He doesn't want any upstart opening his or her mouth before his imprimatur has been attached, so that any foreseeable problems can be kept from the public gaze. Then again Mr Tomich has full confidence in his staff because like some of his councillors Mr Tomich expects a certain malleability that in time becomes 'an understanding'. It is a well-known fact that only submissive persons can expect any long-term employment at Albury City Council. That's another story. Submissive councillors are also preferred. Most councillors 'with a few ideas' of their own are gradually tamed with a bit of flattery and a junket or two.

Remember Godwin Grech?

We all remember Godwin Grech, the treasury official, when he appeared before the senate committee hearing. Many thought this poor man was being persecuted, watching him writhe uncomfortably. It was so convincing; those bastard politicians leave the poor fellow alone resonated in TV land. It didn't take long for Godwin Grech to be found out for what he was, a conniving calculating plotter who was a mole inside the treasury department. So competent was he at his tasks that he coached several members of the Liberal Party on how to use the forged email to maximum affect. Now he's having a nervous breakdown and in a deep depression. No doubt one might suspect this is a ploy to show a merciful judge there were mitigating circumstances. One gets the feeling that Godwin's defence team have it all figured out. Insanity.

As has already been stated, Cr Gould's position was considered by the schemers as purely a temporary measure a stopgap, until they could get everything in place to mount a challenge. After all, Cr Gould had been in politics for a long time. Cr Duncan-Strelec, when she wasn't in Alaska running her fledgling Alaskan Adventure Tours and learning to fly an aeroplane, had her trusted lieutenant in all matters conspiratorial, Cr Henk van de Ven, undermine Cr Gould's position as best he could. When Duncan-Strelec returned after three or four month's leave of absence she was all fired up. Hunting in packs has its advantages. Most times it was subtle, such as in council procedure, which gave the impression that Mayor Gould was not in control of the meetings which she wasn't because they saw to it that she was confused. This was a very effective tactic, picking her up on matters of procedure. Other methods were less subtle, better described as intimidation. Like when Cr Henk van de Ven visited the home of Cr Gould and berated her about the mayoral car. The fact that when the car was not being used by the mayor and was part of the car pool wasn't good enough for Henk. Not good enough at all. It was all part of the plan. All this discussion should have been done in council. To go to the mayor's house uninvited and insist that they change their mind over some particular issue uninvited is improper. Gould was not happy about Henk's visit.