Council candidate Jim Cregan aims to bring creativity to council to help make Geraldton accessible for all

Jim Cregan is hopeful he will secure one of four roles as councillors up for grabs in the Greater Geraldton election, driven by his deep appreciation and gratitude for the local community. After more than 30 years of experience in education, working in leadership roles in schools and universities as a principal and lecturer, Mr Cregan is turning his focus to local government. His favourite thing about the city is the people, and wants to make sure others are experiencing Geraldton at its full potential. Mr Cregan believes the most important issue for council to address is managing of the expansion of the city, while maintaining its unique character and livability, something which takes “creativity and wisdom”. A supporter of increasing the accessibility of Geraldton, the nominee is determined make the city more inclusive for the elderly and those living with disabilities. “Supporting access and inclusion . . . across the entire city rather than just the city centre should be a basic requirement,” Mr Cregan said. A change Mr Cregan would like to see is a limit of two terms per councillor. He believes it would stimulate diversity on council, revitalise the opinions making important decisions and create more opportunities for people from diverse backgrounds. Creativity on council seems to be a common theme for Mr Cregan, who wants to ensure council is able to work collaboratively with all levels of government. “Successful outcomes require creative interactions between each of these levels of government, as well as with non-government agencies,” he said. Mr Cregan said Geraldton has many things to offer, but the area which needs the most work is refurbishing derelict buildings. “You can’t have ‘Geraldton – Take a Closer Look’ as your main marketing theme if there’s nothing to look at, or it’s difficult to access, or it looks like a war-zone,” he said. Mr Cregan said the council had been doing a reasonable job of managing the community strategic plan, but was looking to bring in his wealth of experience to help the City during “this important time of transition and modernisation”. The election is being conducted via postal vote, with ballots to be counted on October 21.