Former mayor among two kicked out of meeting for “behaving like grumpy spoiled kids”

RICKY Kirkham was among two councillors been kicked out of a council meeting for “unacceptable” behaviour in his first sitting since serving as mayor.

Cr Ricky Kirkham was kicked out of last night’s council meeting.

FORMER mayor Ricky Kirkham was among two councillors kicked out of last night’s Whittlesea Council meeting for “behaving like grumpy spoiled kids”.

The North Ward Councillor, along with Cr Mary Lalios, were both shown the door by new Mayor Kris Pavlidis during a tense five-and-a-half hour meeting — the first to be held since this month’s mayoral vote.

Cr Lalios, who had been trading verbal blows with Cr Pavlidis throughout, was the first to get the boot about 9.15pm after repeated warnings that she was talking over the mayor.

Councillor Mary Lalios.

She looked visibly distressed as she stormed out of the chambers.

Cr Kirkham was shown the exit about 11.30pm after several warnings from Cr Pavlidis that his behaviour was “unacceptable”.

He had expressed his displeasure at Cr Pavlidis’s facial expression moments before his departure saying it “wasn’t very mayoral”.

Both ejected councillors took to twitter immediately following the meeting to express their disappointment stating they “won’t be gagged”.

Cr Lalios accused the mayor of having one set of rules for some and another for others.

“Where’s the transparency the mayor espoused in her mayoral speech?” she said.

“Gagging people who have a different view to her, it’s a clear case of do as say not as I do.”

Cr Pavlidis said she didn’t like that she had to eject the councillors but was left with no choice.

“Both of them acted like grumpy spoiled children because they couldn’t get their way,” Cr Pavlidis said.

Mayor Kris Pavlidis

“We’re trying to raise the bar and act with professional integrity but those two councillors repeatedly tried to bring the standards down. The residents deserve more.”

Cr Pavlidis, who was chairing her first meeting since winning election earlier this month, was under pressure early in the evening after copping a dissension motion for not reading out a question from the mother of disabled girl.

The mother interrupted the meeting by verbally demanding Cr Pavlidis read out the question.

It’s understood the question was related to the Leader’s report that Cr Pavlidis had parked in a designated disabled spot while attending the launch of a cafe for people with intellectual disabilities at Mill Park Library last Friday.

NOT A GOOD LOOK: Mayor in hot water over disabled parking spot use

Later in the meeting, debate over the installation of a roundabout in Lyndarum Dve, Epping was hijacked by residents who hurled verbal abuse at councillors.

Chief executive Simon Overland was forced to approach them in a move to halt the verbal tirades.

However, it flared up again shortly later when one woman accused councillors of being “corrupt” before storming out of the chambers.