New City of Greater Geraldton councillor Aaron Horsman charged with drink-driving late on a Monday night

One of the City of Greater Geraldton’s newest councillors will face court in the new year, charged with drink-driving. Anti-vaccine mandate campaigner Aaron Horsman, who scraped on to the council in October when Jerry Clune’s mayoral win opened up a fifth seat, is facing a charge of drink-driving after police stopped him in town last month. Police say Cr Horsman was driving along Durlacher Street about 11.30pm on Monday, November 20 when officers stopped him. A random breath test was conducted and it’s claimed Cr Horsman blew in excess of 0.08. He is due to appear in the Geraldton Magistrates Court on Friday, January 5. In a statement to the Geraldton Guardian, Cr Horsman said: “I deeply regret my actions and will make my apologies and comment further at a later date.” Cr Horsman questioned in June, before he was elected to the council, whether a liquor license issued in the CBD was appropriate. He asked if the council supported granting a liquor licence to Euphorium in the Blue Heelers Square precinct while there were already multiple licensed venues within the area and as “the harm of alcohol-fuelled assaults and domestic violence continue to rise”. In reply, the council said it did not consider liquor licence applications and looked forward to watching the positive development in that space. Cr Horsman, a single father who ran for the No Mandatory Vaccination Party at the North West Central by-election last year, also unsuccessfully ran for mayor at the October election, and has attended council meetings throughout the year. During his campaign for mayor, Mr Horsman pledged to reduce the mayoral allowance from $98,000 to $40,000 to save ratepayers money if he got the top gig, and encouraged people from lower-income demographics to get involved in council question time. Cr Horsman was suing the City for $1000 a day since June when his remark describing then-mayor Shane Van Styn as a “pathetic leader” was recorded in council minutes as an “offensive or defamatory comment”, which Cr Horsman believed defamed him. Soon after being elected to council, Cr Horsman said he wanted to reach an amicable agreement on the matter and “put it to bed”. The current status of the legal action is not clear at present. The City declined to comment on Cr Horsman’s drink-driving charge.